[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17662]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                          LIVABLE COMMUNITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as the American public weighs the 
personalities, the politics, the policies, and the passions of this 
election year, there is one area where their differences could not be 
more clear, the commitment to livable communities and a cleaner 
environment. In the long run, there may be no area where the decisions 
are more significant.
  The forces of environmental degradation will not be easy to reverse. 
Cleaning up our waterways and dealing with the consequences of 
unplanned growth and sprawl may take decades. Reversing global warming 
may take thousands of years. We have no time to waste.
  Luckily for the American public, Al Gore and Joe Lieberman have the 
very highest rating from the people whose job it is to advocate for and 
monitor congressional performance on the environment.
  One does not have to be merely concerned about the stated 
environmental policies and positions of a Bush/Cheney administration, 
like drilling in the Arctic Wilderness Reserve or reversing monument 
status protections for some of our national treasures.
  The Republican ticket also has an environmental record. Dick Cheney, 
in his 12 years in this Chamber, compiled one of the worst 
environmental voting records. Governor Bush, after two terms leading 
the State of Texas, has failed to lead his State from the bottom ranks 
in air and water quality. His voluntary approach for polluting 
industries out of compliance with air quality standards has resulted in 
only 30 of 461 companies stepping forward, raising questions about both 
his judgment and his commitment to the environment.
  Indeed, sad as his performance has been, it is the lack of perception 
and passion that I find most disturbing. He seems unaware of the Texas 
environmental problems. Where is his outrage and his concern that, 
under his leadership, Houston has become the city in the country with 
the worst air quality? This environmental indifference, if combined 
with that of the Republican leadership in this Congress, could be 
disastrous.
  The Clinton/Gore administration has been perhaps the most 
environmentally sensitive in history, but progress has been slowed not 
just by the complexity of today's environmental problems but by highly 
organized special interests and, sadly, by a Republican-controlled 
Congress that has been one of the least sensitive in history.
  For example, since the Gingrich revolution, the EPA has been under 
continuous assault and a series of destructive riders have made the 
budget process an ordeal every single year for the environment.
  Bipartisan alliances to protect the environment should be the rule, 
and we have seen them on this floor. I salute the work of the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. 
Oberstar) with TEA-21, keeping the framework in place, of the gentleman 
from Alaska] (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George 
Miller) on CARA, with the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) 
working with me on flood insurance reform. But these, sadly, have been 
the rare exception.
  The leader of the other body not only proclaims brownfields reform to 
be off-limits but actually puts this incredible pledge in writing. In 
the House, the majority leader and the majority whip have an 
environmental voting record of zero from the League of Conservation 
Voters.
  We should also consider the hidden environmental issue of this 
election, that of judicial appointments. The third branch of 
government, the judiciary, has at times played a key role in protecting 
the environment by requiring the enforcement of environmental laws, 
preventing overreaching by public and private parties. Governor Bush 
has voiced enthusiasm for judges in the mold of Scalia and Thomas. 
Judicial appointments along these lines could not only hamstring an 
administration for years but could cripple environmental enforcement 
for a generation.
  There are some who suggest there is no difference between the 
Republicans and the Democrats in this election. When it comes to the 
environment, the reality is stark. The Democrats have a positive record 
of support and accomplishment, of sympathy and passion for the 
environment. The Republican ticket offers indifferent voting record, 
cursory performance in office, and advocacy of dangerous, even 
reckless, environmental policies.
  Our air, the water, the landscape, our precious natural resources do 
not have the time to survive benign neglect, malicious indifference, 
let alone active assault.
  There is a huge difference, perhaps more than any other issue, that 
of the environment. The stakes for the environment could not be higher, 
and the public should give it the attention that it deserves.




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