[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 143 (Sunday, October 11, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10531-H10532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FOREIGN POLLUTION AT AMERICAN BEACHES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, let me just say to my colleague as somebody 
who owns a tax business in a working class neighborhood where not one 
client makes over $100,000, I think it is fair to know that tax 
reductions for the working class people in this country are coming in 
the next few years, mostly because bipartisan negotiation put off a lot 
of those reductions. So I do not want to get into that. I am just 
meaning to address the fact that the partisan bickering has gone so far 
that people that would normally be outraged and would obviously never 
vote certain ways are voting ways totally contrary to what their 
personal belief is. It is either that, or they are just so busy 
fighting that they are not reading what is being proposed and what they 
are voting on. It is too easy to vote ``no'' against a Republican 
because he is a Republican, or vote ``yes'' for a Republican because he 
is a Republican, or vote ``no'' because he is a Democrat.
  The point I am talking about is this summer, as a father, I was 
taking my children to our beaches in Imperial Beach, Southern 
California, and this is what we were greeted with, pollution signs that 
were closing our beaches and saying to children, you are not allowed to 
go in this water.
  I want you to notice that the sign is a bilingual language sign. That 
is for a good reason. I will explain it later.
  The point being, was this a corporation that polluted our beaches? 
Why was Washington not doing something about it? In fact, this 
pollution problem has gone on for 20 years. The fact is the reason why 
it was not taken care of is not because it was a corporation, and I 
think my colleagues on both sides of the aisle would say they would be 
outraged if an American business was polluting the beaches so badly 
that children could not go in the water.
  The real outrage about this issue was it was not an American business 
or citizens polluting these waters, it was a foreign government 
desecrating U.S. territory with sewage in such large magnitudes that it 
not only affects the environment so you cannot get in the water, but it 
is also destroying the largest estuary and sanctuary in the Pacific 
coast.
  You can say wait a minute, Mr. Bilbray, how could a foreign 
government actually be polluting and desecrating American soil? Let me 
just give you a little geography lesson here.
  The San Diego-Tijuana Tijuana border happens to be cut by the Tijuana 
River. But, unlike a lot of rivers, the Tijuana River flows north into 
the United States.
  Now, that normally would not be a problem, except for the problem 
that Tijuana has been growing so fast, a lot of it by economic 
development, that the sewage lines are broken and are flowing into the 
Tijuana River, flowing through the Tijuana estuary and preserve, and 
going up into the surf zone for the United States.
  Now, you understand, these beaches have been impacted for 20 years. 
Well, the Federal Government has told us,

[[Page H10532]]

and I will tell you this as a young mayor of 27 years old, I was told 
by the Carter administration, that is how far this problem has gone, 
that, Mr. Mayor, we don't want to do anything that may be embarrassing 
to Mexico, because we are trying to close a deal on oil.
  I would just ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to consider 
the fact that someone said we do not want to confront a major 
corporation with polluting our water because it might embarrass them.
  I do not think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would 
ever stand for their neighborhoods being polluted, and in fact would 
not support allowing $200 million of taxpayer funds to be wasted or not 
put to appropriate use. $200 million is going to be spent by the 
taxpayers of the United States to address this problem, and the problem 
is continuing.
  Now, what was the resolution voted against by all but 28 Members of 
the Democratic Caucus? The resolution said if Mexico does not stop 
polluting U.S. waters, Congress will take a look at our treaties that 
relate to Mexico. Can you imagine that being so outrageous, that if the 
pollution keeps going, we are going to continue to shut it down? That 
we are just going to ignore it, because we do not want to even look at 
our treaty obligations?
  I do not believe my colleagues who voted against this bill read the 
bill or understood the bill, and I do not believe that all but 28 
Members of the Democratic Caucus believes that they should vote no to 
clean up the sewage problems and the pollution problems along our 
border.

                              {time}  1615

  I do believe they got wrapped up in this partisan bickering this week 
that says if a Republican proposes it, let us vote against it. They 
voted against it, even though it was against the environment.
  I would ask every one of them to go back to their constituents and 
say, citizens, I believe that our treaties with Mexico are more 
important than the environment; that Washington should continue not to 
address this issue comprehensively, that Washington should find excuses 
for Mexico polluting our waters.
  Mr. Speaker, no one in this House has worked longer and harder at 
working with Mexico, at taking care of this problem. But we do not 
solve problems by ignoring them or walking around them. I have dear 
colleagues on this side that come from my State that I will continue to 
work on pollution problems with, but because we got so wrapped up in 
the partisan bickering, we had votes that were totally contrary to the 
historical facts, and desecrated our environment.
  Mr. Speaker, I would ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, 
put the partisanship away. Let us vote for our children, our 
environment, and quit finding excuses to vote no on everything that 
comes before this floor.

                          ____________________