Political Quotes

“today I am re-introducing the ``Omnibus Mercury Emissions Reduction Act of 1999,'' a bill that I originally introduced during the 105th Congress. I am pleased that Senator Snowe has agreed to co-sponsor the bill. As United States Senators, we all have a responsibility as stewards for the nation and society we will be entrusting to our children and grandchildren. I became a grandfather for the first time a little over a year ago, and this duty has never been more real for me. The ``Omnibus Mercury Emissions Reduction Act of 1999'' is a comprehensive plan to eliminate mercury--one of the last remaining poisons without a specific control strategy--from our air, our waters and our forests. By eliminating mercury pollution from our natural resources, we will protect our nation's most important resource: the young Americans of today and tomorrow. As we learned from the campaign to eliminate lead, our children are at the greatest risk from these poisons. How many future scientists, doctors, poets, and inspiring teachers have we lost in the last generation because of the toxics they have been exposed to in the womb or in early childhood? Just as with lead, we know that mercury has much graver effects on children at very low levels than it does on adults. The level of lead pollution we and our children breathe today is one-tenth what it was a decade ago. That figure by itself is a tribute to the success of the original Clean Air Act.…”