Political Quotes

“To get back to the Senator's prior question, I believe my answer was accurate. If you look at the definition, you will see, if the funding is available, the capacity is there to assess the fine. If the community decides it does not want to pursue the funding for whatever reason, that is irrelevant. The funding is available; the fine can be pursued. On the followup question, which is, if I understand it correctly, if States are undertaking the compliance activity of monitoring, does the EPA have the right to come in and pursue also a Federal action against the community? I would think yes, if the funds are there. And, again, it is an issue of whether the funds are there. If the funds are there and the community has the available funds, has had made available to it the funds, then it seems to me a fine is clearly assessable. I think the chairman is confusing the core issue here, which is a very legitimate one, which the committee has, I have argued a number of times, attempted to meet, the core issue of unfunded mandate with the issue here of fines. What I am saying is we should not hit these communities with a double whammy. I do not want to keep repeating it, and maybe I should choose some other phraseology to get it across a little better. But what I do not want to see happening is if the town does not have the funds available to it, then it gets fined for something it does not get funds to do. All I am saying is as soon as the funds are available, it could be fined.”