[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
        INTERNATIONAL SOLID WASTE IMPORTATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT

  (Mr. WALBERG asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, since 1992, Michigan has not been able to 
control the millions of tons of trash entering our State from Canada, 
and the problem continues. Every day, over 400 trucks from Canada dump 
trash into our State. These trucks come barreling across the border 
without inspection and examination, raising a viable national security 
threat.
  At this time, our State government has almost no say in whether or 
not Michigan should accept the over 4 million tons of trash and 
hazardous waste from Canada every year. Michigan instituted laws 
banning Canadian trash in 1988, but the Supreme Court struck down these 
laws a mere 4 years later and ruled that Congress has not granted such 
authority to our State.
  For too long, Michigan has had its hands tied by the Federal 
Government, and it is time to let the decisions about the integrity and 
the safety of our land be made by those who inhabit the land. As a 
proud cosponsor of H.R. 518, I urge my colleagues to support the 
International Solid Waste Importation and Management Act and empower 
Michigan to make certain the beauty and safety of our land remains 
intact for generations of Michiganders to enjoy in the future.

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