[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 154 (Thursday, November 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11849-S11850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECIPROCAL TRADE AGREEMENTS ACT OF 1997
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
now proceed to the consideration S. 1269, for the purpose of laying
down two first-degree amendments only.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1269) to establish objectives for negotiating
and procedures for implementing certain trade agreements.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate
consideration of the bill?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. DORGAN addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
Amendment No. 1594
(Purpose: To establish an emergency commission to end the trade
deficit)
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, the Senator from North Dakota calls up
amendment No. 1594, which is at the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from North Dakota [Mr. Dorgan] for himself, Mr.
Byrd and Mr. Sarbanes, proposes an amendment numbered 1594.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of
the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(The text of the amendment is printed in today's Record under
``Amendments Submitted.'')
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, let me take just 1 minute to describe the
amendment. I offer the amendment on behalf of myself, Senator Byrd from
West Virginia, and Senator Sarbanes from Maryland. I hope that this
amendment will be agreed to at some point. It is an amendment that
deals with the trade deficit. It would establish an emergency
commission to end the trade deficit, a commission that would be
comprised of 21 members to study and analyze and evaluate the trade
deficit and, over 16 months, make recommendations to the Congress on
how to grapple with this vexing trade deficit.
Mr. President, we have had 21 years of consecutive trade deficits,
each of the last 3 years the highest trade deficits in the history of
this country. Our trade strategy isn't working. We need to change it.
The question is how do we change it so that we end these crippling
trade deficits. We propose a commission to make recommendations to
Congress. I hope it will be successful.
Mr. President, with that I intend to come back to the floor and speak
at greater length, but at this point I yield the floor.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Dorgan
amendment be set aside.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 1602
(Purpose: To establish a research and monitoring program for the
national ambient air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter
and to reinstate the original standards under the Clean Air Act)
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask
for its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Inhofe] proposes an
amendment numbered 1602.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of
the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the end of the bill, add the following:
TITLE __--OZONE AND PARTICULATE MATTER RESEARCH
SEC. __01. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Ozone and Particulate
Matter Research Act of 1997''.
[[Page S11850]]
SEC. __02. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) implementation of the national ambient air quality
standards published in the Federal Register on July 18, 1997
(62 Fed. Reg. 38856), would damage the international
competitiveness of the United States manufacturing industry
and effectively subsidize imports, penalize exports, and add
to an already large United States trade deficit;
(2) Public Law 101-549 (commonly known as the ``Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1990'') (104 Stat. 2399) established a
number of measures and programs that address ozone and
particulate matter pollution and the precursors to ozone and
particulate matter pollution;
(3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, most of the
measures and programs are continuing or have yet to be
implemented;
(4) the United States has made significant progress in
reducing atmospheric levels of ozone and particulate matter
since the enactment of Public Law 101-549 and will continue
to make significant progress in reducing atmospheric levels
of ozone and particulate matter through continued
implementation of that Act during the 5-year period beginning
on the date of enactment of this Act;
(5)(A) the national ambient air quality standards for ozone
that were in effect on July 15, 1997, are explicitly
incorporated into part D of title I of the Clean Air Act (42
U.S.C. 7501 et seq.); and
(B) the changes to those standards published in the Federal
Register on July 18, 1997 (62 Fed. Reg. 38856), could nullify
many of the ozone provisions in Public Law 101-549 and lead
to disruptions and delays in the reduction of ozone and the
precursors to ozone;
(6) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee have
recommended that additional research be conducted to
determine any adverse health effects of fine particles
(including research on the biological mechanism for adverse
health effects, toxicity and dose response levels, and the
specification of the size and type of particle that might
have adverse health effects); and
(7) available atmospheric data regarding fine particle
levels in the United States are inadequate to provide an
understanding of any adverse health effects of fine particles
or a basis for designating areas under title I of the Clean
Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.).
SEC. __03. PARTICULATE MATTER RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) Independent Panel.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency (referred to in this title as the
``Administrator'') shall request the National Academy of
Sciences to convene an independent panel of scientists with
expertise in the health effects of air pollution to establish
priorities for research on the health effects of particulate
matter.
(2) Report.--Not later than February 1, 1998, the
Administrator shall report to Congress on the recommendations
of the independent panel.
(b) Research Priorities.--At a minimum, the independent
panel shall consider--
(1) the sizes and physical-chemical characteristics of the
constituents of particulate matter;
(2) the health effects of individual exposure to
concentrations of fine particulate matter at ambient levels
versus indoor levels;
(3) the identification and evaluation of biological
mechanisms for fine particulate matter as related to
shortening of lives, acute mortality, and morbidity;
(4) controlled inhalation exposure as a determinant of
dose-response relationships; and
(5) long-term health effect evaluations that examine
individual exposure to fine particulate matter, other
particulate indicators, and other copollutants and airborne
allergens.
(c) Interagency Committee.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the President shall establish a
committee to be known as the ``Particulate Matter Interagency
Committee'' (referred to in this title as the ``Interagency
Committee'').
(2) Purposes.--The Interagency Committee shall--
(A) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, develop recommendations for a program to coordinate
the activities of Federal agencies engaged in research on
human health effects of particulate matter that ensures that
the research advances the prioritized agenda of the
independent panel; and
(B) monitor, review, and periodically evaluate the program.
(3) Composition of interagency committee.--
(A) Membership.--The Interagency Committee shall be
composed of 8 members, of whom--
(i) 1 shall be appointed by the Administrator;
(ii) 1 shall be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture;
(iii) 1 shall be appointed by the Secretary of Defense;
(iv) 1 shall be appointed by the Secretary of Energy;
(v) 1 shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services;
(vi) 1 shall be appointed by the Director of the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences;
(vii) 1 shall be appointed by the Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology; and
(viii) 1 shall be appointed by the Director of the Office
of Science and Technology Policy.
(B) Chairperson.--From among the members appointed under
clauses (ii) through (viii) of subparagraph (A), the
Interagency Committee shall elect a chairperson who shall be
responsible for ensuring that the duties of the Interagency
Committee are carried out.
(C) Staff.--Members of the Interagency Committee shall
provide appropriate staff to carry out the duties of the
Interagency Committee.
(d) Report to Interagency Committee.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall request the
National Academy of Sciences to periodically submit to the
Interagency Committee, the Clean Air Science Advisory
Committee, and Congress a report that evaluates the
prioritized research activities under the program described
in subsection (c)(2)(A).
(2) Expenses.--The Administrator shall be responsible for
expenses incurred by the National Academy of Sciences in
carrying out paragraph (1).
SEC. __04. SCIENCE REVIEW.
Not earlier than 4 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Administrator shall--
(1) complete a thorough review of the air quality criteria
published under section 108 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
7408) for ozone and fine particulate matter and a thorough
review of the standards in effect under that Act for ozone
and particulate matter; and
(2) determine, in accordance with sections 108 and 109 of
that Act (42 U.S.C. 7408, 7409), whether to--
(A) retain the criteria and standards in effect under that
Act for ozone and particulate matter;
(B) make revisions in the criteria and standards; or
(C) promulgate new criteria and standards.
SEC. __05. PARTICULATE MONITORING PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Administrator may require State
implementation plans to require ambient air quality
monitoring for fine particulate matter pursuant to section
110(a)(2)(B) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2)(B)).
(b) Grants.--The Administrator shall make grants to States
to carry out monitoring required under subsection (a).
SEC. __06. REINSTATEMENT OF STANDARDS.
(a) In General.--The national ambient air quality standards
for ozone and particulate matter under section 109 of the
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409), as in effect on July 15,
1997, are reinstated, and any national ambient air quality
standard for ozone or particulate matter that may be
promulgated after July 15, 1997, but before completion of the
science review under section 4 shall be of no effect.
(b) Revision of Standards.--The national ambient air
quality standards for ozone and particulate matter reinstated
under subsection (a) shall not be revised until completion of
the scientific review under section __04.
SEC. __07. ALLERGEN RESEARCH.
The National Institutes of Health shall carry out a
research program to study the health effects of allergens on
asthmatics, especially asthmatics in urban inner city areas.
SEC. __08. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal
years 1998 through 2002--
(1) $75,000,000 to carry out sections __01 through __06;
and
(2) $25,000,000 to carry out section __07.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I will make the same request that the
Senator from North Dakota did. I will be wanting to come back and take
up this amendment. I ask at this time it be set aside.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________