[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 4, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S934-S935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE ENVIRONMENT

  Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, while I and a number of my colleagues 
will come to the floor in the days ahead to introduce specific 
proposals affecting our Nation's parks and public lands, I would like 
to talk very generally about the environmental and natural resources 
agenda of the 105th Congress. My hope is that we have learned from the 
lessons of the last Congress and will not once again attempt to undo 
the most effective and progressive network of environmental laws in the 
world.
  Over 25 years ago, with overwhelming bipartisan support, the National 
Forest Management Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the 
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the 
Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act were enacted into law.
  Today, as a result of those and other laws passed with strong support 
from

[[Page S935]]

both sides of the aisle, people are more actively involved in 
management of their public lands, more people are using public lands 
for recreation than ever before, our air and waters are cleaner, 
hunting and fishing is better, our Government is more open about the 
effects of its actions on the health and safety of families and local 
communities, and rare species such as the bald eagle and grizzly bear 
are thriving.
  By protecting our natural resource heritage, we have become a wiser, 
stronger, and healthier Nation.
  At times we have a tendency to overlook the value--our moral and 
ethical obligation--to pass on healthy lands and waters to our 
children's children. How else can we explain efforts in the last 
Congress--and proposals by some of my colleagues today--to rewrite, 
overturn, or significantly weaken the protections afforded all 
Americans by these laws?
  In this regard, I was encouraged by the recent words of Mike Dombeck, 
the new Chief of the Forest Service. His first day on the job, Chief 
Dombeck said:

       More and more, people are realizing that their jobs and 
     professions, the quality of the water they drink and the air 
     they breathe--the very fabric of their lives --are dependent 
     on the land that sustains them.

  Dombeck told his employees that this Nation's environmental laws:

       . . . represent the conservation values of mainstream 
     America. Do not be disturbed by the debate surrounding their 
     execution. This is background noise to a complex society and 
     healthy, properly functioning democracy. There is an ongoing 
     debate in this Nation over how national forests and 
     rangelands should be managed. That's just fine. In fact, it 
     is healthy. Debate and information are the essence of 
     democracy. The people we serve, all of the American people, 
     are now more fully engaged in defining how their public land 
     legacy should be managed.

  The new Chief succinctly stated what we inside the beltway sometimes 
forget, ``We cannot meet the needs of the people if we do not first 
conserve and restore the health of the land.'' This Nation is blessed 
by a public land legacy that is the envy of the world. Our taxpayer-
owned lands are the refuge of last resort for vanishing species. 
Moreover, these lands enable our children to experience the solitude of 
wilderness, pristine clear lakes, and a hunting and fishing experience 
unexcelled in pure delight anywhere else.
  Last year many Members of Congress were shocked by the outrage of our 
citizenry over the efforts to dramatically cut the EPA budget. In 1960, 
65 percent of our lakes and streams were neither swimmable nor 
fishable. Today 65 percent of our lakes and streams are swimmable and 
are fishable, and I can tell you, our people want that progress to 
continue until we reach 100 percent. I applaud Chief Dombeck's views 
and encourage my colleagues to allow him the time and resources to make 
the policy and personnel changes needed to achieve his critically 
important vision.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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