[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 156 (Thursday, December 2, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COMMEMORATING THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL 
                           PROTECTION AGENCY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 2, 2010

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
work of the U.S. Environmental Protection as it celebrates its fortieth 
anniversary.
  EPA was established December 2, eight months after the nationally-
celebrated Earth Day. EPA's work has been much in the forefront in 
recent years, particularly related to its work to regulate greenhouse 
gas emissions. There are some that disagree with EPA's approaches, 
believing that they cause increased costs to industry and hurt the 
economy. Yet we have all benefitted from its results. No one can 
dispute that EPA's efforts have provided a cleaner, healthier 
environment for the American people.
  Congress has given EPA much to work with, including the Clean Air 
Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation 
and Recovery Act, the Superfund Law. Oil Pollution Act, and other laws. 
The agency has done its best to meet stringent congressional mandates 
through strong scientific and medical-based research, working with 
states, industry and the public, encouraging voluntary actions and 
taking aggressive enforcement actions when needed.
  Sadly, some of my colleagues are now criticizing the agency for 
following the law and discussing ways to prevent the agency from doing 
its job. Under the Clean Air Act, Congress directed EPA to regulate air 
pollutants on health-based standards. I urge my colleagues that refrain 
from this criticism and think twice before weakening regulations that 
protect our health.
  There is a strong record of achievement. Let me list some of EPA's 
many accomplishments in these forty years:
  Removing lead from gasoline
  Reducing acid rain
  Establishing vehicle efficiency and emissions control standards
  Controlling toxic substances management and disposal
  Banning widespread use of pesticides such as DDT
  Promoting recycling of potential waste
  Achieving cleaner drinking water
  Making information on environmental concerns available to the public
  Revitalizing communities with Brownfield grants
  In addition, EPA is called upon to respond to natural and man-made 
disasters. In the last ten years, EPA assisted in the World Trade 
Center response in 2001; performed several cleanups of anthrax, 
including the Hart Senate Office Building, in 2001; cleaned up 
following Hurricane Katrina in 2005; retrieved Columbia Shuttle debris 
in 2003; responded to the collapse of the TVA dam in Kentucky in 2008; 
and provided support to the BP oil spill response in 2010.
  For four decades, EPA has confronted environmental challenges, 
fostered innovations, and cleaned up pollution in the places where 
people live, work, play and learn. Anyone who travels outside this 
country to areas without strong environmental protections can attest to 
the benefits to our well being from reducing pollution. Over the past 
forty years, it is undisputed that EPA has improved our environment and 
the health of all Americans. 

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