[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 26, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1377-S1378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                             EARTH DAY 2023

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, on Saturday, Earth Day turned 53. For 
the past half-plus century, we have paused each spring to celebrate and 
reflect on our relationship with the natural world and to demonstrate 
support for environmental protection.
  This year's theme, Invest in Our Planet, served as a reminder of our 
responsibility to deliver Federal resources and spur innovation to 
ensure peace and prosperity for future generations.
  The environmental challenges facing our planet, fueled increasingly 
by climate change, are urgent and require immediate action. According 
to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--EPA--nearly half of our 
rivers and streams are polluted by excess nutrients. During extreme 
rain events, river flow increases, pouring more fresh water into 
estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay.
  Stormwater runoff pushes nutrients, sediment, and other pollutants 
off the land and into rivers and streams. Excess nutrients then lead to 
the growth of harmful algal blooms that harm plants and animals. 
Pollution not only affects our aquatic life but can contaminate 
drinking water sources and impart costly impacts to recreation, 
tourism, and fisheries.
  Low-income and communities of color often face disproportionately 
high pollutant exposures. The communities who are most affected by 
nitrates are also less likely to be able to afford the necessary water 
treatment. That is why I applaud the Biden administration's focused 
attention on delivering the benefits of historic Federal investments to 
disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and 
overburdened by pollution. For too long, the Nation has underinvested 
in water infrastructure. Failing water infrastructure threatens the 
environment, and it risks people's health, safety, and livelihoods.
  Congress responded with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which 
delivers more than $50 billion to EPA to improve our Nation's drinking 
water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. This is the single 
largest investment in water that the Federal Government has ever made. 
EPA recently announced $775 million in funding Congress appropriated 
for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, CWSRF. This funding, along 
with the investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is 
critical for communities across the country to upgrade their wastewater 
and stormwater systems, protect public health and preserve our precious 
water bodies. In its allotment, my home State of Maryland received 
$18.3 million towards improving water quality, toward a total of over 
$167 million this fiscal year to upgrade drinking water and wastewater 
infrastructure.
  The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act also invested in EPA's 
geographic programs, including the Chesapeake Bay Program. These 
programs are long-standing, location-specific programs that help 
protect local ecosystems and communities from climate change, habitat 
loss, and pollution.
  I am also pleased to report that due in part to concerted efforts to 
control nutrient pollution, the Chesapeake Bay had the tenth smallest 
area impacted by low-oxygen water this past summer. Long-term trends 
indicate this ``dead zone'' where fish, crab, and other species cannot 
live because there is not enough oxygen in the water has been getting 
smaller. Low-oxygen or hypoxic water is caused by excess nutrients like 
nitrogen or phosphorus from agricultural runoff and urban and suburban 
stormwater entering the bay. It is encouraging to see that efforts to 
reduce nutrient pollution are making a difference. The Chesapeake Bay 
Program is a model for a regional partnership that unites an array of 
stakeholders--from producers to nonprofits to local governments--behind 
a common goal: Restore and protect the Bay.
  Globally, cooperation offers similar benefits. The recovery of the 
Earth's protective ozone layer announced in January is a hopeful 
example. The ozone layer plays a critical role in shielding us from 
harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Human activities, such as 
the use of ozone-depleting substances like chlorofluorocarbons--CFCs--
have caused significant damage to the ozone layer. Fortunately, 
collective action to limit these substances, such as the Montreal 
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, an international 
agreement to protect the ozone layer, is allowing it to recover. 
According to the United Nations, if commitments like these stay in 
place, the ozone layer could fully recover to 1980 levels by 2040. 
However,

[[Page S1378]]

we must ensure solving one environmental challenge does not create 
another. Hydrofluorocarbons--HFCs--which are often used as substitutes 
for ozone-depleting substances, are even more potent greenhouse gases 
than carbon dioxide.
  The Kigali amendment addresses this issue by adding HFCs to the list 
of substances that need to be limited in the Montreal Protocol. For our 
part, Congress not only passed the American Innovation and 
Manufacturing Act--AIM Act--to phase down HFCs, but also ratified the 
amendment. It was America's space Agency that demonstrated the link 
between hydrofluorocarbons--HFCs--and climate change. In 2015, a NASA 
study found that HFCs damage the ozone layer and that their impact 
could cause a 0.035 percent decrease in ozone by 2050. Today, federally 
supported science is returning the U.S. to the Moon: Artemis II is 
NASA's first crewed Artemis mission. On this 10-day long mission, four 
astronauts announced earlier this month will fly around the Moon before 
returning to Earth and test the Space Launch System and Orion 
spacecraft capabilities that will help send more people to space in the 
future.
  This kind of exploration enables us to learn more about our planet 
and gather valuable data on the environment. I am so proud of the 
Marylanders involved with the mission, including Commander Reid 
Wiseman, with whom I had the opportunity to speak earlier this month. 
The flight, set to build upon the successful uncrewed Artemis I mission 
completed in December, will set the stage for the first woman and first 
person of color on the Moon through the Artemis Program, paving the way 
for future for long-term human exploration missions to the Moon and, 
eventually, Mars. This is the Agency's Moon to Mars exploration 
approach. Overcoming the challenges of working in space will lead to 
many more technological and scientific advances here on Earth in areas 
including healthcare, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, 
energy, information technology, and industrial productivity.
  I am heartened by all the positive changes to improve our 
environment, but there is still work to be done. The Inflation 
Reduction Act laid the groundwork to make a just, clean U.S. economy a 
reality, saving trillions of dollars from avoided illness and death, 
reduced property damage from climate-related disasters and sea level 
rise, and reduced costs related to increasing temperatures.
  Still, climate change and other environmental issues continue to pose 
a threat to Earth's health that disproportionally impacts vulnerable 
communities. Further steps will be needed to fully meet President 
Biden's pledge to reduce U.S. climate pollution by 50 to 52 percent 
below 2005 levels by 2030. We cannot become complacent; we must remain 
committed to taking action to protect our environment. I am confident 
that our Nation can further promote sustainability through thoughtful 
policies and legislation.
  This year, let us celebrate our achievements and not forget our 
responsibility to invest in our planet.

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