Robert Torricelli: “I think it would be regrettable if this Senate ever allows itself to be silenced in simply expressing its intentions or…”

“I think it would be regrettable if this Senate ever allows itself to be silenced in simply expressing its intentions or desires because the executive branch may have conflicting views or believe an issue is its prerogative. Ultimately, the expenditures of this Government are our responsibility. So I want the Attorney General to be clear on this. I will shortly ask that this amendment not proceed. But this should be clear as negotiations proceed with the W.R. Grace Corporation. If it is the intention of the Justice Department to reach a settlement, whereby the taxpayers of the United States are left with this $100 million expenditure and a private corporation, which has profited by these operations, and the resulting environmental abuse, is left without making a significant contribution, I most assuredly will return to the floor of the Senate with an amendment on an appropriations bill that would cover the payment of those expenditures, and I will insist on a vote, and I will fight. I do not believe the taxpayers of this country should be subsidizing polluters. I will not stand for it.”