[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 96 (Friday, July 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES ON H.R. 6, ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005

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                               speech of

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 13, 2005

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Motion to Instruct 
Conferees by Representative Capps.
  Our greatest obligation is to protect the people we represent. That 
means protecting their health and wellbeing. Therefore, it is important 
that we do not let those responsible for MBTE contamination of our 
water off the hook.
  Clean and safe drinking water is vital to our health, not a luxury.
  So I want to make sure that chemicals that cause cancer or other 
illnesses that threaten the health, even the lives, of my constituents 
are not able to contaminate the water we drink.
  That is why I have been working hard to gain funds to pay for the 
removal of perchlorate from groundwater in San Bernardino County.
  And that is why I am concerned about MBTE and its impact on the 
communities I represent.
  MBTE is a dangerous chemical that has contaminated the groundwater in 
thousands of sites across the country.
  Unfortunately, instead of holding the manufacturers of MBTE 
accountable for the harm their products have caused, some Republicans 
in Congress want to make the American people pay.
  I believe in being accountable and responsible. This Administration 
has talked about accountability, but now Republican leaders are now 
trying to pass the buck.
  The cost of cleaning up MBTE-contaminated water nationwide is 
estimated to be $29 billion.
  It is wrong to ask the county and city governments and local water 
agencies to pay. Their budgets are already under a lot of stress, and 
they would have to raise the funds from taxpayers and ratepayers.
  We must reject provisions that give corporate polluters a free pass. 
MBTE manufacturers must be held accountable for the harm they have 
caused and clean up their own mess.

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