David Cay Johnston

There may be a court interpretation of that. But you have under your amendment a review of subsection (d), ``without observance of the procedure required by law.'' According to what you have said, you are going to review the procedure…

The court has had a chance to review this and has given such orders as are necessary, which might be--I guess what the court would order is a schedule. Public comments to be completed by such and such a time. Final rule by such and such a…

It is quite clear. It is a low barrier. You have to show the rule is likely to terminate, the agency needs additional time, that terminating the rule would not be in the public interest, and that the agency has not expeditiously completed…

But now if the Senator will look over on the previous page, subsection (3), An interested party may petition the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to extend the period for review of a rule on the schedule for up to 2…

You provide for the court to use section 706 of the Administrative Procedure Act in order to give the needful review. We provide that the court of appeals grant such equitable relief as is appropriate. If anything, ours is broader than…

There is virtually no difference between this 2-year extension provision of the Dole-Johnston amendment and in the Glenn-Chafee substitute.

If everybody wants the rule to sunset it can sunset. You can terminate a rule today.

Generally for the life, for the 20th or 30th time, the value of the life is not quantifiable by its nature.

Again, the question is, what is the value of a human life? It is, in my view, very clearly by nature nonquantifiable.

Let me ask my friend from Michigan, it is right there in the definition of section 621. If we took that word ``nonquantifiable'' out, would the Senator then agree with me that it does not require least cost, that this discretion is there…

It is because, Mr. President, the definitions in section 621 state clearly that the term ``benefit'' means the reasonably identifiable significant, favorable effects, quantifiable and nonquantifiable.

The answer is, of course, I want that ``USDA inspected'' label on there, and I want scientists to make that inspection based on scientific standards and not on some public opinion poll or some prejudice or some superstition. Put good…

And that is why we have every single provision of that Clean Air Act unchanged, not overridden, and the full force and effect if this bill passes. Did the Senator know the original risk assessment was proposed by a Democrat, namely me, and…

This is a waste of time. If you want to kill this bill, enact this Glenn-Chafee amendment, beat your chest, feel good about it. It has risk assessment in the title of the bill, but it amounts to nothing, zero.

That is exactly right. The Roth bill, which came out unanimously, out of Governmental Affairs, had a lot of teeth. The Senator and I have talked about that. My own view was I liked some of the teeth. I thought some of the other teeth were…

That is, even according to EPA's own studies. They had one study in 1987 that determined that risks conformed--the EPA study in 1987 entitled, ``Unfinished Business'' says that they ``systematically failed to properly rank risks.'' They…

That is exactly correct. But they say, trust us, we will do them in our sole discretion.

It would even more clearly be consensual under those because they make sure, and they say, ``in sole discretion of the agency head,'' and then they go back, under section 625, and ensure that there is no appeal from the exercise of sole…

There has been a risk assessment rulemaking rule out there--Executive order I should say--under every President since President Ford. By the way, I have a copy of it here. The problem is that it is consensual as well, and it is generally…

I have never said this ought to be consensual, that it ought to be solely in the discretion of the agency head. Never have said that. Never believed that. It simply is not so. I think we have delivered very, very well on this letter of…

The advisory boards, in my judgment, are useful, and I tried to sell advisory boards. I do not think they are central to the process, but if the Senator from Ohio thinks they are important, I will come back----

Let me ask my friend to answer this question: EPA does not do anything. It puts no rule up for review. What is your remedy if you are an aggrieved party, if you are outraged citizens, if you are millions of American citizens, what is your…

Well, let us say that the director of EPA or another agency looks back and says, ``We have done a heck of a good job, we have great bureaucrats in this agency, and we do not think anything needs to be reviewed.'' So the slate is clean, it…

Oh, well, sure. Congress can always pass a law. The Constitution provides that. This bill does not provide that. But save Congress enacting a law, it is consensual, is it not?

If you ever got a cost-benefit analysis done under Glenn-Chafee, all that is consensual. If you want to do it, if you feel like it, if it feels good, do it. Otherwise, do not do it because you do not have to. It is business as usual. Am I…