Bruce F. Vento: “I would just point out also that the underlying legislation here is permanent. It is a permanent change in terms of the…”

“I would just point out also that the underlying legislation here is permanent. It is a permanent change in terms of the Endangered Species Act as applies to water projects, which I might add, to my colleagues, is not a small activity that goes on in this country in terms of the amount of dollars. It is an important activity, one that is vital, but it has to be done and channeled. I would say more often than not that those environmental requirements, including the Endangered Species Act, are the best money we can spend. They are the best money because they have held accountable this Congress from the type of wasteful projects that are repeatedly brought to this floor. So I do not think the environmental laws of this Nation, including the Environmental Protection Act and the others, if anything, they have limited the type of wasteful spending in project after project. And if it does not work perfectly, let us improve it. Let us not permanently exempt all these projects. Let us adopt the Boehlert and Fazio substitute, which is a temporary fix and something that needs to be addressed.”