Political Quotes

“I support H.R. 961, the bipartisan clean water reauthorization. I would like to say at the outset no one disputes the importance of clean water to our citizens. Nor does anyone that I know of dispute that the Clean Water Act has generally been a successful vehicle for improving the quality of our water. Having said that, I think that it is equally clear that some of the provisions of the act need reform. In my view the area of current law that is in most need of an overhaul is section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Over the years in our part of the country this section has been increasingly abused by Federal regulation and regulators. This abuse has made the wetlands permitting process a nightmare for private land owners and has led in some cases to literally an assault on the rights of many Americans. This bill which the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Hayes] and the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Laughlin] have helped to author takes, I think, constructive steps to correct some of these problems.”