William R. Richardson: “I want to express my strong support for this rule. And I must add that I am pleased that we in the House now have the…”

“I want to express my strong support for this rule. And I must add that I am pleased that we in the House now have the opportunity to fulfill the promise made by President Clinton to elevate the EPA to Cabinet-level. By passing this rule today, we will send a strong message to the administration and to the American people that we recognize and accept our responsibility to give reality to the term ``environmental protection.'' How could we be dealing this year with the Clean Water Act, the Superfund program, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act without dealing with a Cabinet-level department? H.R. 3425 is truly landmark legislation, not only because it elevates the EPA to full Cabinet level, but for the statement it makes about our values as a nation. Passage of this rule means that we value our environment. It means that we believe that environmental protection is as important as protecting public health, providing good schools for kids, building safe roads and bridges and providing markets for American made goods and services. Americans have made great strides in cleaning up and improving national environmental quality since the 1970's. Yet 40 percent of the country's rivers and lakes are still not fishable or swimmable, many Americans live near toxic waste sites that need to be cleaned up and several areas of the country are not yet meeting air quality standards.”