Patrick Leahy: “my colleague, Senator Jeffords, introduced legislation, the Lake Champlain Basin Program Act of 2002, in honor of former…”

“my colleague, Senator Jeffords, introduced legislation, the Lake Champlain Basin Program Act of 2002, in honor of former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. With the forbearance of the distinguished Senator from Connecticut and the distinguished Senator from Tennessee, I will only speak for a couple minutes. I, obviously, strongly support what Senator Jeffords has done and appreciate his work and the work of the members of his staff. In Vermont, we are extremely pleased with the success of the Lake Champlain program to date. With the additional resources in this bill, we are confident that the problems that Lake Champlain encounters--the problems of pollution and of other matters--can be addressed. Lake Champlain is a magnificent lake standing between Vermont and New York. It is a lake that is enjoyed by people who fish, sail, who are involved in economic activities, and, of course, it has tremendous economic and historical value to this Nation, from the time of the Revolutionary War on. The basin program shows what happens when two States, Vermont and New York, and one province, the Province of Quebec, get together and work on a common watershed and link their people, their governments--local, State, and Federal--together in almost unprecedented cooperation to save this great big beautiful lake. It has been a model for watersheds throughout the Nation. I am pleased to join in introducing this legislation.”