[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 16, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1811-E1812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF THE STRENGTHENING SCIENCE AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL 
                         PROTECTION AGENCY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. VERNON J. EHLERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 2003

  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce legislation 
that will strengthen the role that science plays within the 
Environmental Protection Agency. This legislation is precisely the same 
bill that passed the House in April of last year (H.R. 64 in the 107th 
Congress).
  I introduce this today on the heels of the Administration's renewed 
interest in passing legislation that would promote EPA to a cabinet-
level department. I still support efforts to elevate EPA without 
significant structural changes, yet I strongly believe that the 
scientific and regulatory arms of the Agency should be more integrated. 
The Administration has recently shown a new willingness to accept some 
restructuring proposals as part of legislation to elevate EPA. In fact, 
during a recent congressional hearing the acting EPA Administrator 
testified that, ``the time has come to establish EPA as a permanent 
member of the Cabinet, modernizing its structure in a straightforward 
way to ensure it can respond effectively to future environmental 
challenges.''
  If restructuring proposals are included in elevation legislation, 
then the most fundamental and straightforward reform needed at the EPA 
is to strengthen the role that science plays in the Agency's regulatory 
decision-making process. Science must infuse this process. Too often it 
is used as a cudgel to win a legal battle, or as an afterthought to the 
regulatory process, rather than as the foundation of a regulatory 
decision.

[[Page E1812]]

  The need to strengthen science at the EPA is well-documented. The 
most recent report, issued by the National Research Council, made two 
major recommendations. First, that the EPA create a new Deputy 
Administrator for Science and Technology to serve as an advocate for 
and reviewer of science at the most senior levels of the Agency. 
Second, that EPA set a fixed term for the Assistant Administrator of 
the Office of Research and Development. These changes would help 
elevate the role of science in the decision-making process at the 
Agency, as well as provide more stability to existing research efforts 
inside of the Agency. The legislation I am introducing today captures 
both of these ideas and will help ensure that science informs and 
infuses the regulatory work of the EPA.
  I urge the Administration not to go too far down the road of 
``structural changes'' and to tightly adhere to their goal of accepting 
only straightforward ones. This legislation is one of the simplest, 
straightforward, and yet most effective structural changes Congress can 
make. It will truly improve the decision-making process at EPA. 
Additionally, this proposal has already passed the House and garnered 
the support organizations from the scientific and business community. I 
look forward to working with the Administration on this legislation and 
urge my colleagues to support it.

                          ____________________