Vernon Ehlers: “I think, getting back to the theme of what we have been talking about, we are simply trying to demonstrate that we are…”

“I think, getting back to the theme of what we have been talking about, we are simply trying to demonstrate that we are Republicans are trying to develop a responsible approach to the environment here. I appreciate the comments that have been made. I thank the gentleman from Maryland especially for his views on wetlands, and obviously, it is very similar to Michigan. There is just one minor correction, by the way. Michigan has its own wetlands law, whereas Maryland and New Jersey will administer the Federal wetlands law. It was interesting, when I was in office there I heard a lot of complaints about the wetland law, and one legislator proposed repealing the Michigan wetland law. The two groups that argued the most against that were the sportsmen, who think the wetlands law is wonderful, because Michigan has great hunting and fishing and so forth, and business. They said, 'We know this law. It works for Michigan. We do not want to be under the Federal law.' That shows how each State can design the law that accomplishes the goals better than we can with a one-size-fits-all approach from Washington. I think we have to set a minimum standard, but encourage the States to go beyond that. As Republicans who are talking about devolution of power, of letting the people in the communities have a say, I think this fits in beautifully with that.”