[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 23, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Mica] is recognized during 
morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, today is the day after Earth Day, and I am one 
of those Members of Congress from the Republican side who feels that 
every day should be an Earth Day because really, if you stop and think 
about it, most of the rest of the world is destroying our planet.
  We have taken some corrective actions in this Congress and through 
Republican efforts. The Environmental Protection Agency was first 
proposed by President Nixon in 1972. Republicans have a long history of 
supporting cleaning up the environment, not only in this country but 
also in the world. One reason I came to the floor today is to announce 
that I am reintroducing legislation that I introduced in my first term. 
I have only been here 38 months, but this was probably the first place 
of legislation I introduced as a new Member. It deals with cleaning up 
our global environment.
  As a former businessman, I had a chance in the international trade 
field to travel the world and see the mass destruction of our planet by 
so many nations. What disturbed me in traveling around the world and 
looking at what is going on was that in fact the U.S. policy, the U.S. 
financial backing was supporting some of these efforts at destruction 
of our planet.
  So one of the first bills I introduced was called the Global 
Environmental Cleanup Act. I introduced it; it never got a hearing with 
the old majority. Really never got a fair airing. I felt that it was 
important that the United States, through legislation and through a 
directive from Congress, state as a firm policy that countries who 
receive any type of financial assistance should in fact be obligated to 
clean up the environment.
  That is exactly what this bill will do. And I invite my colleagues to 
join me in being cosponsors of the legislation this week when it is 
introduced. Basically what it says is if you receive U.S. financial 
assistance, financial aid, that a certain percent of that financial 
aid, and whether it is to build a dam or whether it is to create an 
industry or some activity in a foreign nation, that in fact that 
portion of those funds from the United States and the taxpayer goes to 
clean up the environment in these countries. It is a reasonable 
approach and a reasoned approach.
  The other thing that I noticed is that because of the way other 
countries, third world countries and other competing countries compete 
with the United States in manufacturing and other activities, often 
using lower environmental standards. They bring products into the 
United States at a lower cost, with less environmental protection, less 
attention to environmental cleanup and protection and they compete with 
our businessmen and women on an unfair basis. So this is a little bit 
of an equalizer.
  This bill is also interesting because it also impacts every agency of 
the United States that deals in financial support or assistance or 
backing. The United States actually supports the finances of almost all 
third world nations. If we pulled out our financial backing through the 
United Nations, through the World Bank, through the various development 
banks and regional banks, many of these countries could collapse.
  What this bill says, in its second part, is in fact that cleaning up 
the environment and environmental policy will be part of our policy and 
our financial backing. We will direct our representatives to these 
organizations to express not only by their voice but also by their vote 
support for environmental cleanup so our taxpayer dollars will help 
clean up and establish a policy for cleaning up these third world 
nations that abuse the world environment.
  Let me provide examples. In Egypt, the second largest recipient of 
United States foreign assistance and we see pollution that would 
startle any environmentalist, and certainly should be a concern to 
every American. If you look in the Western Hemisphere in Mexico, a 
major trade recipient, a recipient of the largess of the United States, 
environmental pollution is a disaster. This bill and my colleagues' 
action in cosponsoring will help clean up that mess.

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