[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 21, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10876-S10877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         AMBIENT AIR STANDARDS

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, tomorrow we will be holding public 
hearings on a bill that is very significant. It is Senate bill 1084.
  Back almost a year ago, in November of last year, the Administrator 
of the EPA, Carol Browner, came out with the recommendation and the 
rule change to lower the ambient air standards as they pertained to 
particulate matter and to ozone.
  After looking at this, we found that there was at that time no 
scientific

[[Page S10877]]

justification for lowering the ambient air standards. Consequently we 
started having hearings.
  Our first hearing was with the scientific community. We had 
representation there from CASAC, that is the Clean Air Science Advisory 
Committee. It was somewhat unanimous among all the scientific community 
that there is no scientific justification for lowering standards.
  One of the things that was rather interesting that came up in that 
first hearing was a group of young children, we understand now, that 
came from some hospital who came in wearing masks, as if to say, ``You 
must lower these standards or we're not going to be able to breathe.''
  I think a great disservice was done because it came out during the 
course of that hearing that these children used breathers, respirators; 
they were using various medical equipment that has the chemical CFC in 
it that allows them to breathe. At precisely the same time that the 
Administrator of the EPA was saying that we had to do something about 
lowering the ambient air standards so these young people could breathe, 
I asked for a show of hands as to how many of them used, in their 
particular medical devices, CFC's. Every hand went up.
  I asked, ``How many of you are aware of the fact that Administrator 
Browner, the same one who is advocating lowering the standards, has 
said she's going to take CFC's off the market so you folks would not be 
able to use these in your breathers?''
  I was pleased to find out this morning that Senator Tim Hutchinson 
from Arkansas has introduced legislation that will keep the EPA and the 
other various bureaucracies from taking this chemical off the market. I 
certainly applaud him for that. I will join him in that effort.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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