John Shaw: “Mr. Chairman, I reluctantly come to speak in favor of the amendment, not because of the contents, but just recognizing…”

“Mr. Chairman, I reluctantly come to speak in favor of the amendment, not because of the contents, but just recognizing the work that this committee has done in trying to balance the needs of this country. But we have a problem of national proportions, which is a national responsibility in south Florida. Early on in the history of south Florida, south Florida, the rim of south Florida had a natural dike. Outside we had, of course, the Atlantic Ocean. Within, we had a river of grass, which now is known as the Florida Everglades. There were natural springs bubbling up in downtown Fort Lauderdale, just in the new river. There were natural springs in Dade County that were bubbling up. It was a true tropical paradise. Then, along came development within the Everglades itself. The whole attitude of the people was to drain the swamps, get rid of the alligators, get rid of all the problems, drain the swamps and put in a series of canals. Then agriculture came in to backfill on what was once the river of grass and the bottom of this giant swamp. We have found that because of this right now, something has happened which has got everything out of balance. We have found that the natural ecosystem of the Everglades now is in serious danger, irreversible danger.”