[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5171-5172]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               EARTH DAY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, Earth Day is today. Most of the celebrations 
took place this weekend. People are interested in this program all over 
the country. Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin, came up with 
this idea. It has caught fire. People are more concerned about the 
environment than ever.
  I indicated the other day the reason we have the Clean Water Act is 
that for example, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio kept catching fire. Yes, 
they had to put out the fire on the river on a number of occasions 
because it was so polluted. It was determined at that time that 80 
percent of our rivers and streams in the United States were polluted; 
only 20 percent were not.
  As a result of that river catching fire, Congress, and then President 
Nixon, decided something had to be done. The Clean Water Act was 
passed. It was imperfect legislation, but it has made great strides 
toward improving the waterways of this country. Some say the numbers 
have reversed, that now only 20 percent of the rivers and streams are 
polluted. That is probably inaccurate--it is probably more than that--
but progress has been made.
  Fish are returning to rivers that were once so polluted they could 
not survive in the water. There are rivers and streams now where people 
can catch fish and actually eat them; they are not toxic to eat.
  People realize Earth Day should apply not only to places in the 
mountains where it is greener but more fragile habitat such as the 
desert, from where I come. The Mojave Desert is the driest and most 
unforgiving region in North America. Yet to most it is also one of the 
most beautiful, awe-inspiring places in America. It is fragile because 
of the extreme climate. It is not unusual to see extremes of 40 degrees 
from morning to night.
  I have learned the Earth heals very slowly from the impact of people. 
I didn't realize that as a boy. I don't think a lot of people realized 
how fragile the desert was. I mentioned the other day that I have seen 
the tracks made 50 years ago or more where Patton and his troops did 
war exercises in the desert. I was in that part of the desert a couple 
weeks ago. It was amazing to still see those tank tracks in the desert. 
They will be there probably for another 50 years, if not more.
  More people each year understand how important it is to conserve our 
land and its rich resources. While this administration's environmental 
rollbacks are getting too numerous to count, they started with, of 
course, the infamous problem of arsenic in the water--saying there was 
no problem, regardless of how much arsenic was in the water.
  While this administration's environmental rollbacks are too numerous 
to count, the one that stands out the most in my mind is the 
transportation of nuclear waste. The reason this has been so difficult 
for me to accept is the President came to Nevada on one occasion. He 
came to northern Nevada, the Lake Tahoe area, and would not take 
questions from the press during his campaign. He was afraid people 
would ask questions about nuclear waste. His position had been contrary 
to the interests of residents of Nevada. As the campaign rolled on and 
it was determined that Nevada electoral votes might become very 
important in the Presidential race, he sent people to Nevada on his 
behalf and explained: President Bush thinks nuclear waste is an 
important issue and he will not allow nuclear waste to come to Nevada 
unless there is sound science. Vice President Cheney came when he was 
campaigning. President Bush issued a statement to that effect, 
unequivocally saying nuclear waste would not come to Nevada unless 
there was sound science. He came to Nevada only on one occasion during 
the campaign. But, since he came to Nevada, that science has gone 
downhill from the perspective of the nuclear power industry. In fact,

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there are 292 scientific investigative reports, according to the 
General Accounting Office, that have not been completed. In addition to 
that, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board has stated that the 
science is poor. In addition to that, the Winston & Strawn law firm, 
which was giving legal advice to the Secretary of Energy for the sum of 
millions of dollars, was also getting millions of dollars from the 
Nuclear Energy Institute. If there were ever a direct conflict of 
interest, that was it, and the inspector general from the Department of 
Energy said so in written form.
  So we have the General Accounting Office, inspector general of the 
Department of Energy, and the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board 
saying: Secretary Abraham, don't make this recommendation now. You 
don't have the facts at your disposal to show there is good science. In 
spite of that, Secretary Abraham went ahead and did this anyway, and it 
was confirmed 1 day later by President Bush.
  The people of Nevada are extremely disappointed in how President Bush 
handled this issue. So this is only one indication of how the President 
has handled the environment.
  We have to work together to protect our environment from threats for 
our children and for their children. All future generations deserve 
clean water to drink, safe air to breathe, and communities free of 
dangerous chemicals. That is for certain.
  In Nevada, we have taken important steps to protect our Nation's 
threatened and endangered species, even though, I repeat, Nevada is a 
desert, mostly. We have been either third or fourth, sometimes fifth, 
among the States that have listings in that regard. But we have made 
progress.
  Construction came to a halt in Las Vegas because of the desert 
tortoise, and we have had problems in some of our rivers because of 
threatened and endangered species, but we have met those challenges. We 
have met them, especially in the southern Nevada area, a rapidly 
growing Las Vegas area, in a very inventive--I would say not only 
inventive way, but a way that will be used in future endangered species 
actions.
  This was difficult to obtain, but we were able to get this with 
Secretary Babbitt, and I am convinced Secretary Norton will follow the 
same routine that Secretary Babbitt established as relates to 
endangered species in the southern Nevada area.
  We have done some things that are extremely important to preserve 
areas around Las Vegas, including the Red Rock National Recreation 
area. We have been able to do some good things for Lake Tahoe and 
Pyramid Lake. We have done things with the Lake Mead area.
  So we have a lot to celebrate in Nevada about our environmental 
accomplishments. But they are not secure. We believe there are other 
actions that need to be taken. One of the things we have been able to 
do--and this Congress really needs to talk positively about--is the 
brownfields legislation. That was legislation I authored. We were able 
to report that out of the Environment and Public Works Committee where 
I served during my entire time in the Senate.
  I have been chairman of that committee on two separate occasions. 
During the time I have been there, we have had the opportunity to help 
improve many of our bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean 
Water Act, the Clean Air Act, Food Quality Protection Act, the 
Endangered Species Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. But the 
Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2001, 
to clean up contaminated sites in rural areas and inner cities, has 
been very important. It will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and 
create millions and millions in revenues--actually over $2 billion in 
revenue--for local government.
  This took a piece of the Superfund legislation and improved upon 
that. We could not totally rework the Superfund legislation as needed, 
but we were able to take a small piece of it and do things of which all 
cities in America were supportive. It was supported by the National 
League of Cities and the National Council of Mayors. As a result, we 
were able to pass this legislation.
  It took a while to get it out of the House, but we were finally able 
to get it out. It took almost a year to get it out of the House.
  We have made progress, in addition to that, toward reducing air 
pollution. That is what some of these general laws have done in years 
past. As I have indicated, with drinking water threats such as arsenic 
and others, we need to do better.
  We have worked to protect our Nation's threatened and endangered 
species, bringing back American symbols such as the bald eagle. I was 
able to go to the west front of the Capitol about a month ago. We had a 
bald eagle fly in. We were able to see that beautiful bird. I had never 
been that close to an eagle--really this close--with those piercing 
eyes. Those eyes can see a fish in the water a mile away, I am told.
  Mr. President, I know this administration has taken steps to erode 
some of these accomplishments about which I have spoken, and on nearly 
every front. On this Earth Day, I think we should recognize this 
administration has denied the reality of global warming by walking away 
from the international negotiating table on climate change. This 
administration has threatened to undermine a Clean Air Act program 
which would clean up pollution from our powerplants. This 
administration has proposed to cut funding for enforcement of our 
landmark environmental laws. This administration has opposed efforts to 
develop renewable energy and to make our vehicles more efficient. This 
administration has tried to exploit the National Wildlife Refuge at the 
request of the big oil companies.
  Today the President is in the Adirondack Mountains or someplace in 
New York--I think that is where I heard in the news that he was--to 
celebrate Earth Day. I am glad the administration recognizes the 
importance of Earth Day. But I think we should look at some of the 
basic laws that are being underfunded and undermined by the policies of 
this administration.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wyoming, Mr. 
Thomas, is recognized.

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