David Obey: “let me say I very much understand what motivates my colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kleczka), to offer this…”

“let me say I very much understand what motivates my colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kleczka), to offer this amendment. I have not the foggiest idea whether the standard being proposed or even contemplated by the agency is the correct one. My problem is that I have stood many times on this floor and resisted congressional efforts to, on the basis of a very short debate, reach what, in essence, is a scientific conclusion to prohibit an agency charged with protecting public health from taking whatever action they think is necessary to protect the public health. It seems to me the best way to approach things is to try to work together and go to the agency and to insist informally that they produce hard evidence that what they are doing makes sense. My concern with the gentleman's amendment goes to simply one word: prohibit. I do not know enough to either prohibit or to encourage what they are doing, and I would urge that the gentleman follow the advice of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh). I think that is the most constructive way to try to work together to get the right answer.”