Lincoln Chafee: “today I join the Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. Smith] in introducing legislation dealing with interstate waste and…”

“today I join the Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. Smith] in introducing legislation dealing with interstate waste and flow control authority. I want to acknowledge the Senator's effort. As the chairman of the Environment Committee's Superfund, Waste Control, and Risk Assessment Subcommittee, the Senator from New Hampshire has taken the lead in drafting this legislation, targeting issues that went unresolved last year. As you may recall, at the close of the last session of Congress, a so-called compromise on interstate waste and flow control was approved by the House and sent to the Senate on the last day of the session. I had real concerns with the bill. We could have approved that bill if there had been time for debate and an opportunity to consider amendments. But that was not the case. It was a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, and for a number of reasons, I could not take it. The legislation was broad in scope, both on interstate and flow control. In my view, unlike the Senate-passed bill on interstate waste--which was a fair accommodation of importing and exporting States' interests--the House-passed bill tilted the scales out of balance in favor of importing States. Rhode Island, I might add, is a waste exporter. On flow control--which was not addressed in the Senate bill--the House bill favored local governments to the detriment of consumers and small business.”