[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 75 (Monday, May 24, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H3463-H3464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      PARTNERSHIPS FOR A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT AND BETTER COMMUNITIES

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, since I was elected to Congress, I have 
been focusing on the issue of livable communities and how we can create 
better partnerships between the Federal Government and our citizens. 
Unfortunately, one of the obstacles we face is the efforts by some 
people to create false choices. Last week, we saw two examples here in 
Congress, one dealing with efforts to reduce gun violence, and the 
other an important environmental announcement by one of our leading 
auto companies.
  Repeated throughout the discussion regarding guns in our communities 
have been people who have tried to paint very stark pictures that 
suggest that really there is nothing that we can do to take simple 
common sense steps. Hopefully, the action in the Senate indicated that 
there are things that we can do that bring people together that will 
make a difference. I am optimistic that we may be able to yet have that 
discussion on the floor of this House.
  At the same time, we find people trying to paint these same sorts of 
false choices as it relates to the environmental community. Some argue 
that we have to work against business or manufacturing when the 
government seeks to improve the environment. This simply does not have 
to be the case. Last week we had an excellent example of what happens 
when companies recognize that they are partners in our efforts to 
protect the environment and improve air quality.
  For the last 25 years, trucks and the SUVs have been allowed to 
produce 2.5 times as much smog-causing gas as cars, and next year, when 
stricter rules take place, these full-sized vehicles will be producing 
five times as much as cars under the new rules. Regulations for pickups 
and the sport utility vehicles were originally more lenient because 
they were used theoretically primarily by small business, yet today 
they comprise half of all family vehicles.
  Last Monday, Ford Motor Company announced that starting with its 
model 2000 year, its full-sized pickup trucks will meet current 
pollution standards for cars. All but the largest will meet the 
stricter new car requirements as well as the proposed truck 
requirements that go into effect between the year 2002 and 2007. Ford 
made their announcement a week after a Federal appeals panel, in a 
radical departure from established judicial precedent, invalidated air 
quality regulations set by EPA which were designed, in part, to 
decrease ground level ozone, a major contributor to smog. If that 
ruling is upheld, efforts like Ford's will take on much more 
significance.
  Ford is taking this initiative because they recognize that consumers 
want cars and trucks that are environmentally sound, and that by 
producing them, Ford will have a competitive advantage. Jacques Nasser, 
Ford's chief executive and president, said that Ford is doing this 
because it will benefit the company financially and because ``it is the 
right thing to do.''
  As the use of pickup trucks and SUVs has increased, so has the amount 
of smog-producing gas they produce. Manufacturers cleaning up their 
trucks will allow for cleaner air and easier breathing. Ford's action 
on the national level will allow each individual driver to contribute 
less pollution to their community every day, and this new equipment 
will not adversely affect performance and will come to Ford customers 
at no extra cost, since Ford has agreed to absorb the $100 per truck 
cost.
  Clean air and a healthy environment benefit each of us and all of our 
communities. Ford has acknowledged that their industry must be a 
partner in our efforts to protect and preserve our environment. They 
are to be commended for this action, and I challenge other car and 
truck manufacturers to do the same.
  This example of the private sector stepping forward and acting on 
behalf of the environment should be a wake-up call to this Congress as 
well. We need to do our part by considering rewarding those companies 
rather than potentially even penalizing them. We must also work 
together to avoid the debacle that occurred last week with unrelated 
environmental riders that

[[Page H3464]]

were added to the supplemental appropriations bill.
  Ford's action demonstrated that preserving the environment is a 
priority for the American people, and that we must do all we can to 
create an environmental record we can be proud of. I would hope that as 
we approach further efforts dealing with the environmental protection 
and, for that matter, the reduction of gun violence, we can avoid the 
false choices offered by the extreme.

                          ____________________