Max Baucus: “Very little is known about industrial waste. Much more is known about municipal waste. That is why we in the committee…”

“Very little is known about industrial waste. Much more is known about municipal waste. That is why we in the committee decided the limits we came up with. I think it is very, very dangerous to legislate in ignorance. Very dangerous. This body is, I might say, pretty much ignorant when it comes to industrial waste. We do not know the numbers. We did not know the volumes. We do not know enough about the practice, very little about the practice. I think it would be very, very dangerous for this body to legislate in ignorance. We may do that sometimes around here, and we may do it with some frequency around here, but it does not justify it. For that reason, too, I think it is important that this amendment not be adopted here. There is time to deal with this. There is no huge outcry. My office is not inundated. I daresay the offices of other Senators are not inundated with letters from people at home saying do something about industrial waste. That is not the cry. What we hear is, 'Do something about municipal waste. Do something about garbage.' This is not garbage in the traditional sense of the term. This is industrial waste.”