Tom Harkin: “first, I just respond to my friend from Oklahoma by saying that they can still go ahead and have the hearings and…”

“first, I just respond to my friend from Oklahoma by saying that they can still go ahead and have the hearings and everything else after we adopt the sense-of-the-Senate resolution. Nothing prevents the committee from going ahead and meeting and having the blue-ribbon panel appear, and proceed with hearings. But we ought to express ourselves here as to the health issues that confront us. I also point out to my friend from Oklahoma that I was reading the blue-ribbon panel's page here on this, and I thought I might read the pertinent parts because it is not quite exactly as my friend from Oklahoma said. On page 6 it says: ``Recommendations for Blending Fuel for Clean Air and Water.'' Based on its review of the current water protection programs, and the likely progress that can be made in tightening and strengthening those programs by implementing Recommendations 1-9 above, the Panel agreed broadly, although not unanimously, that even enhanced protection programs will not give adequate assurance that water supplies will be protected, and that changes need to be made to the RFG [the reformulated gasoline] program to reduce the amount of MTBE being used, while ensuring that the air quality benefits of RFG, and fuel supply and price stability, are maintained.”