Political Quotes

“I am pleased to join Senator Harkin in introducing legislation aimed at encouraging regulatory common sense. I would like to give my colleagues a bit of background so they will understand why it is needed. In the spring of 1993, the Transportation Department proposed regulations to guard against oilspills, and require response plans if spills did occur. To the amazement of some of us, DOT proposed to treat vegetable oils--that is, salad oils--in the same way as petroleum. Among other things, salad oils would have been officially declared hazardous materials, with all the regulatory requirements and extra costs which that designation entails. This was so classic an example of regulatory overreaching that it was almost comic. Some of us pointed out that vegetable oil is not the same thing as petroleum: You do not put vegetable oil in your car. We also pointed out that vegetable oil processors thought it entirely appropriate that they undertake response plans to guard against major spills--the industry was not arguing that they should be exempt from regulation. The industry was, however, saying that regulators should take into account the obvious differences--in toxicity, biodegradability, environmental persistence, and other factors--between vegetable oils and animal fats on the one hand, and petroleum oils on the other. It made no sense for vegetable oils to be subject to a set of regulations as stringent as those for petroleum oils.”