[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 69 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration on the bill (H.R. 2361) 
     making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 
     environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2006, and for other purposes:

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, the idea behind environmental justice is 
simple. People of color and people of limited means bear more than 
their fair share of environmental problems--like exposure to 
pollution--and are denied more than their fair share of environmental 
benefits--like access to natural areas or clean water.
  It is also important to point out that if you were to look at both 
race and poverty to see which one would best predict locations of 
environmental contaminants in the air or water, you would find race to 
be the better predictor, according to studies dating back to 1987.
  Here's another way to look at it: Many studies have found that 
middle-income people of color live near more contamination than low-
income white people. Enforcement of environmental laws is also less 
prevalent and weaker in communities of color. Penalties for hazardous 
waste violations were found to be roughly 500 percent higher when those 
violations happened in mostly white communities than when they happened 
in communities of color.
  In 1992, then President Bush created an Office of Environmental 
Justice in the EPA precisely to begin to deal with this problem. In 
1994, President Clinton expanded the directive's scope and 
applicability, again, in recognition of the seriousness of the problem.
  But now, the Executive Order and the EPA's Office of Environmental 
Justice are being ignored to death by the Administration. The National 
Environmental Justice Advisory Council is withering away. The EPA 
Inspector General in 2004 found that the EPA failed to comply with the 
Executive Order and changed their interpretation of the order to avoid 
an emphasis on people of color and low-income people. The U.S. 
Commission on Civil Rights found in 2002 that federal agencies did not 
incorporate environmental justice into their core missions as directed 
by the Executive Order. Congress must step in to restore these efforts 
and take them to the next level.
  The Hastings amendment would do exactly that. Every community, every 
person deserves equal access to clean air, clean water, natural areas, 
and healthy food. I urge my colleagues to support the Hastings 
amendment.

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