John Chafee: “it appears that we have secured broad, bipartisan support for a series of reforms to the Safe Drinking Water Act, a law…”

“it appears that we have secured broad, bipartisan support for a series of reforms to the Safe Drinking Water Act, a law that has become most controversial in recent months. Achieving this much reflects the contributions of many Senators and others, including the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Carol Browner, and her team in the EPA water office. The problems with the Safe Drinking Water Act were first brought to the attention of the Senate in 1992 by the Senator from New Mexico [Mr. Domenici]. He alerted us then to the problems in the program and to the need for promptly enacted reforms. His determination to see real changes in the Safe Drinking Water Act has been steadfast right through to today. He was our sentinel out on the frontlines of this battle. In response to the concerns Senator Domenici raised, the Congress adopted an amendment that I offered along with Senator Lautenberg to the 1993 EPA appropriations bill. That amendment delayed the proposed radon standard, provided some relief to small systems from monitoring requirements and requested a report from EPA on the status of the program. EPA's report arrived in September 1993. It is a thorough analysis and has been very helpful to Senators in understanding the intricacies of this law. The head of the drinking water office, Jim Elder, deserves special praise for the quality of his report and the foundation that it has laid for this Senate debate.”