Lynn C. Woolsey: “In last year's balanced budget, we had a bipartisan agreement to protect the environment. But this year the Republicans…”

“In last year's balanced budget, we had a bipartisan agreement to protect the environment. But this year the Republicans in their budget proposal throw away that commitment, out the window. The Democratic alternative, however, does restore the vital environmental funding that we know as Members of Congress we have a responsibility to fund. We must fund projects to ensure clean air and clean water, to ensure that our public lands are preserved, and that our toxic and hazardous sites are cleaned up. The Democratic budget provides funding for water quality improvement, because 40 percent of our Nation's waterways are too polluted to swim or fish in. The Democratic budget provides assistance to States and communities to reduce non-point pollution, clean up streams and improve coastal water quality. The Democratic budget provides vital funding for our Superfund cleanup sites. One in four children under the age of 12 live within four miles of a Superfund site. It is time, time for Republicans to join us and clean up the toxic waste dumps near our schools, our parks and in our neighborhoods.”