Frank Pallone: “tonight, although I know it is the day after Earth Day, I want to concentrate my remarks on the environment. The gist of…”

“tonight, although I know it is the day after Earth Day, I want to concentrate my remarks on the environment. The gist of my statements tonight are basically to point out the contrast between the Democrats and the Republicans on environmental protection issues. Mr. Speaker, I have been very concerned over the last year or the last 18 months that the new administration, President Bush's administration, both in terms of actions in Congress with the Republican leadership or in agency actions as part of his administration, has done a great deal of damage to the environment, and has basically used the presidency and the power of agencies to break down a lot of environmental protection, not provide the type of enforcement action or the budgetary action that is necessary to protect the environment. Much of this has been linked to special interests, to corporate interests, and to concerns that big business has about environmental protection, environmental regulation. Very little concern has been focused on the impact of these changes in environmental protection on the average American. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats are committed to preserving America's air, water, and pristine lands for future generations, and are fighting to make sure that environmental protection and public health are not sacrificed to the corporate special interests.”