[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S11908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CAROL BROWNER TRIBUTE

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Carol Browner, the longest-serving Administrator in the history of the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and one of the people with whom I 
have been most honored to work. I can think of no finer role model for 
young women, or young men, considering a career in government today 
than Carol Browner. Since she came to the EPA seven years ago, she has 
set a gold standard for public service and for protection of the 
public's health. A dedicated advocate for the environment, she has 
never neglected her responsibility to protect and preserve the water, 
land and air that our childrens' children will inherit from us.
  Carol Browner has been a tireless advocate for the environment and 
made significant contributions in every area that the EPA touches. As 
just one example, Administrator Browner set up a childrens' office at 
the EPA for the first time, signaling her commitment to strengthening 
the ties between the environment and children's health. Under 
Administrator Browner's control, the EPA began to take children into 
account when developing air and water safety standards, such as the 
Safe Drinking Water Act. The Food Quality Protection Act was the first 
law that made health of children, rather than adult males, the 
benchmark for evaluating safety. These two acts are monuments to Carol 
Browner's dedication to the environment and to children.
  To better protect our nation's surface waters, Administrator Browner 
was a principal architect of the Clinton Administration's Clean Water 
Action Plan. One component of this program was to increase the public's 
knowledge about the potential health threats from swimming in 
contaminated waters at our nation's beaches. Under her leadership, EPA 
established a publicly-accessible Internet site containing information 
about water quality and beach closings across the nation. Administrator 
Browner and I worked closely together to strengthen the water quality 
standards for our nation's coastal recreation waters, and to assist 
states in setting up beach monitoring and notification programs. Our 
efforts were successful through the enactment of Public Law 106-284, 
also known as the ``Beach Bill.''
  Through the Clean Water Action Plan, Administrator Browner 
demonstrated her ability to take on the tough fights and to do what was 
right for the environment. Under her leadership, EPA adopted policies 
to reduce polluted runoff from factory farms and from aging urban 
wastewater systems, and helped obtain the funding to implement these 
controls.
  As a proponent of corporate responsibility and the citizen's ``right 
to know,'' an area of particular interest to me, Administrator Browner, 
the law and EPA's implementation of it, effected a 50 percent drop in 
the rate of industrial emissions, without creating any new regulatory 
mandates. As another example, Administrator Browner fought to limit the 
industrial pollution generated by coal fire plants in Midwestern states 
that contributed to air pollution in New Jersey. Under Administrator 
Browner and President Clinton, the EPA has both vigorously enforced 
environmental laws and reached out to industry to find creative new 
incentives and environmental results. This is the kind of leadership 
that Democrats and Republicans can both rally around.
  Perhaps most importantly to my home state, during Administrator 
Browner's nearly eight-year tenure, the Superfund Program has completed 
three times the number of waste site cleanups than in its previous 
twelve years. She helped keep Superfund strong, and held fast to the 
belief that justice and the environment are best served when polluters 
pay to clean up the messes they create, even while she strove to 
improve the program and accelerate clean-ups. I was honored to share 
the stage with Administrator Browner recently at Pepe Field in Boonton, 
New Jersey, which was Superfund's 750th clean-up. What was once a 
malodorous eyesore is now a thriving community park. Pepe Field is but 
one of many Superfund success stories under Administrator Browner's 
leadership.
  With her oversight of the Brownfields program, Carol Browner has 
demonstrated the vital ties between a healthy environment and a healthy 
economy. Revitalizing these sites created more than 8,300 construction 
jobs. And once the work was done, another 22,000 jobs were either 
created or retained. Much of this economic revitalization happened in 
communities in need, where per capita incomes averaged just over 
$10,000 a year, versus a national average of almost $14,500. This 
program brings both environmental and economic justice to these 
neighborhoods. Communities once on the verge of despair are back on the 
road to revitalization, thanks to Carol Browner.
  Carol Browner is one of the best friends this nation's environment 
has ever had. As I prepare to leave the Senate, I will remember her for 
many things, but most of all for her optimism, her commitment, and her 
integrity. I thank her for her work and salute her 
accomplishments.

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