Louis Stokes: “I rise to oppose H.R. 961, the Clean Water Amendments of 1995, a bill that would turn back progress of the Clean Water…”

“I rise to oppose H.R. 961, the Clean Water Amendments of 1995, a bill that would turn back progress of the Clean Water Act and undermine two decades of progress in improving the Great Lakes--an important recreational and economic resource to the people of my State. Millions of jobs are directly or indirectly dependent upon water from that body of surface water. H.R. 961 would threaten the economic and environmental resources that the lakes provide. I am concerned that H.R. 961 eliminates the concept of a level playing field for businesses in the Great Lakes basin, the basis of the Great Lakes Governors' Agreement of 1986 and the Great Lakes initiative. H.R. 961 allows a State to adopt some provisions of the recent Great Lakes initiative, and not others. Clearly, this creates interstate competition based on willingness to degrade the environment. H.R. 961 also allows companies and municipalities to avoid compliance with proven and accepted environmental standards and in effect rewards those who have done the least to prevent pollution with the greatest opportunity to reduce the cost of wastewater treatment. Indeed, time and time again, this bill guts the Clean Water Act and seriously weakens the Great Lakes water quality initiative--a landmark program designed to ensure that all States within the Great Lakes basin have uniform water quality standards to protect these national treasures-- the Great Lakes.”