Maurice Hinchey: “as has been noted a couple of times here this morning, today is Earth Day. It is the day in which we remind ourselves of…”

“as has been noted a couple of times here this morning, today is Earth Day. It is the day in which we remind ourselves of the symbiotic relationship that exists between our species and every other species on the planet and how dependent everything else is on Earth upon our actions. It is also important for us to observe today that there are a number of environmental bills that are pending in this House, or I should say really locked up in this House, that are not making progress. I will mention just two, the Federal Superfund, which needs to be reauthorized, and the Endangered Species Act. With regard to the Endangered Species Act, a recent poll of more than 400 American biologists indicates that they are deeply concerned about the loss of biological diversity which we are currently experiencing. They estimate that up to one-fifth of all the species on the Earth will be wiped out within the next 30 years, unless we do something to protect the habitat of these species. We are directly linked to everything else on Earth. We have a responsibility to protect them. We have a responsibility to pass the Endangered Species Act and get other important environmental bills out on this floor.”