[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 48 (Thursday, April 28, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            INTRODUCING THE RISK ASSESSMENT IMPROVEMENT ACT

  (Mr. KLEIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to proudly announced the 
introduction of the Risk Assessment Improvement Act of 1994. 
Environmental regulations are not doing the job. Threats to health and 
safety are not being addressed, while precious resources are frittered 
away on unproductive activity. At the same time we put unnecessary 
roadblocks in the path of business, causing loss of jobs.
  This legislation strengthens and coordinates the scientific methods 
used to calculate threats to human health and provides a basis for 
protecting the environment while preserving American jobs.
  It establishes a director of risk assessment at the EPA to oversee a 
new risk program and bring together the variety of existing risk 
assessment initiatives spread throughout the Agency. This will ensure 
that state-of-the-art scientific methods are the basis for the risk 
assessment guidelines developed by the EPA. Second, the bill 
established a pilot program using comparative risk analysis to rank the 
severity of various environmental hazards. Also, the President's 
Science Adviser will coordinate mechanisms in risk assessment to ensure 
that Government agencies address similar risks using compatible 
methods.
  This bill already has broad bipartisan support and I urge all Members 
to cosponsor this important initiative.

                          ____________________