Political Quotes

“as a member of the House Science Committee and an original cosponsor of this bill, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3178, the Water Infrastructure Security and Research Development Act. In October, as the Anthrax scare was at its zenith, I held two town hall meetings in my district. The first question at each one revealed the serious concerns of my constituents about the safety of their water. They wanted to know if the water that they use every day to cook, to bathe, and to clean would be protected from being used to deliver chemical or biological weapons. Each one of us relies upon the cleanliness and purity of our water supplies and upon the appropriate treatment of our sewage. But, since September 11th, we've become acutely aware that the things we take for granted could easily be threatened by terrorists who want to do us harm. Our water supplies, simply because they reach every one of us every day, top that list. Last month, a Richmond, Virginia newspaper did a security check of its own at three area drinking water plants. What they found gave great reason for concern to Richmond City residents. A reporter and photographer were able to walk right through the front gate of the City's facility, wander around for about an hour each day for a week, and have access to the water supply. Similar surprise inspections at neighboring county facilities, Mr. Speaker, were thankfully less alarming.”