JOURNAL OF THE

598

T57.31 APRIL 6

tionship with the natural world, and

about our relationship with future generations. For the first time, the National Environmental Policy Act made

explicit the widely-held public sentiment that we should live in harmony

with nature and make decisions that

account for future generations as well

as for today. It declared that the Federal Government should work in concert with State and local governments

and the citizens of this great Nation

‘‘to create and maintain conditions

under which man and nature can exist

in productive harmony, and fulfill the

social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.’’

Over the past 25 years, America has

made great progress in protecting the

environment. The air is cleaner in

many places than it was, and we no

longer have rivers that catch on fire.

And yet, this year in Milwaukee, more

than 100 people died from drinking contaminated water, and many of our surface waters are still not fit for fishing

and swimming. One in four Americans

still lives near a toxic dump and almost as many breathe air that is

unhealthy.

In order to continue the progress

that we have made and adequately provide for future generations, my Administration is ushering in a new era of

common sense reforms. We are bringing together Americans from all walks

of life to find new solutions to protect

our health, improve our Nation’s stewardship of natural resources, and provide lasting economic opportunities for

ourselves and for our children. We are

reinventing environmental programs to

make them work better and cost less.

My Administration is ushering in a

new era of environmental reforms in

many ways. Following is a description

of a few of these reforms, grouped into

three clusters: first, stronger and

smarter health protection programs

such as my proposed Superfund reforms

and EPA’s new common sense approach

to regulation; second, new approaches

to resource management, such as our

Northwest forest plan, that provide

better stewardship of our natural resources and sustained economic opportunity; and third, the promotion of innovative environmental technologies,

for healthier air and water as well as

stronger economic growth now and in

the future.

Stronger and Smarter Health Protection Programs. Throughout my Administration, we have been refining Government, striving to make it work better and cost less. One of the best places

to apply this principle in the environmental arena is the Superfund program. For far too long, far too many

Superfund dollars have been spent on

lawyers and not nearly enough have

been spent on clean-up. I’ve directed

my Administration to reform this program by cutting legal costs, increasing

community involvement, and cleaning

up toxic dumps more quickly. The reformed Superfund program will be faster, fairer, and more efficient—and it

will put more land back into productive community use.

Similarly, EPA is embarking on a

new strategy to make environmental

and health regulation work better and

cost less. This new common sense approach has the potential to revolutionize the way we write environmental regulations. First, EPA will not

seek to adopt environmental standards

in a vacuum. Instead, all the affected

stakeholders—representatives of industry, labor, State governments, and the

environmental community—will be involved from the beginning. Second, we

will replace one-size-fits-all regulations with a focus on results achieved

with flexible means. And at last, we’re

taking a consistent, comprehensive approach. With the old piecemeal approach, the water rules were written in

isolation of the air rules and the waste

rules, and too often led to results that

merely shuffled and shifted pollutants—results that had too little health

protection at too great a cost. With its

new commonsense approach, EPA will

address the full range of environmental

and health impacts of a given industry—steel or electronics for example—

to get cleaner, faster, and cheaper results.

Better Stewardship of our Natural

Resources. Just as representative of

our new approach to the environment—

and just as grounded in common

sense—is the Administration’s commitment to ecosystems management of

the Nation’s natural resources. For

decades ecologists have known that

what we do with one resource affects

the others. For instance, the way we

manage a forest has very real consequences for the quality of the rivers

that run through the forest, very real

consequences for the fishermen who depend on that water for their livelihood,

and very real consequences for the

health of the community downstream.

But until recently, government operations failed to account adequately for

such interaction. In many cases, several Federal agencies operated independently in the same area under different rules. In many cases, no one

paused to ponder the negative consequences of their actions until it was

too late.

Often, these consequences were catastrophic, leading to ecological and economic train wrecks such as the collapse of fisheries along the coasts, or

the conflict over timber cutting in the

Pacific Northwest. When I convened

the Forest Conference earlier this year

I saw the devastating effects of the

Federal Government’s lack of foresight

and failure to provide leadership. Here,

perhaps more than anywhere else, is a

case study in how a failure to anticipate the consequences of our actions on

the natural environment can be devastating to our livelihood in the years

ahead. Our forest plan is a balanced

and comprehensive program to put people back to work and protect ancient

forests for future generations. It will

not solve all of the region’s problems

but it is a strong first step at restoring

both the long-term health of the region’s ecosystem and the region’s economy.

Innovative Environmental Technologies. Environmental and health reforms such as EPA’s common sense

strategy and natural resource reforms

such as the forest plan provide an opportunity, and an obligation, to make

good decisions for today that continue

to pay off for generations to come. In

much the same way, sound investments

in environmental technology can ensure that we leave to future generations a productive, livable world. Every

innovation in environmental technology opens up a new expanse of economic and environmental possibilities,

making it possible to accomplish goals

that have eluded us in the past. From

the very beginning, I have promoted innovative environmental technologies

as a top priority. We’ve launched a series of environmental technology initiatives, issued a number of Executive

orders to help spur the application of

these technologies, and taken concrete

steps to promote their export. Experts

say the world market for environmental technology is nearly $300 billion today and that it may double by

the year 2000. Every dollar we invest in

environmental technology will pay off

in a healthier environment worldwide,

in greater market share for U.S. companies, and in more jobs for American

workers.

Innovations in environmental technology can be the bridge that carries

us from the threat of greater health

crises and ecological destruction toward the promise of greater economic

prosperity and social well-being. Innovation by innovation, we can build a

world transformed by human ingenuity

and creativity—a world in which economic activity and the natural environment support and sustain one another.

This is the vision that Jackson,

Muskie, and Dingell articulated more

than two decades ago when they wrote

in the National Environmental Policy

Act that we should strive to live in

productive harmony with nature and

seek to fulfill the social and economic

needs of future generations. We share a

common responsibility to see beyond

the urgent pressures of today and think

of the future. We share a common responsibility to speak for our children,

so that they inherit a world filled with

the same opportunity that we had. This

is the vision for which we work today

and the guiding principle behind my

Administration’s environmental policies.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON.

THE WHITE HOUSE, April 6, 1995.

By unanimous consent, the message,

together with the accompanying papers, was referred to the Committee on

Resources.

T57.31 LEAVE OF ABSENCE

By unanimous consent, leave of absence was granted to Mr. FROST, for

today and April 7.

And then,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

599

1995 T57.34

T57.32 ADJOURNMENT

On motion of Mr. SANDERS, pursuant to the special order heretofore

agreed to, at 9 o’clock and 10 minutes

p.m., the House adjourned until 11

o’clock a.m. on Friday, April 7, 1995.

T57.33 REPORTS OF COMMITTEES ON

PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

Under clause 2 of rule XIII, reports of

committees were delivered to the Clerk

for printing and reference to the proper

calendar, as follows:

Mr. BLILEY: Committee on Commerce,

H.R. 483. A bill to amend title XVIII of the

Social Security Act to permit Medicare select policies to be offered in all States, and

for other purposes; with an amendment

(Rept. No. 104–79 Pt. 2). Referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of

the Union.

Mr. ROBERTS: Committee on Agriculture

H.R. 618. A bill to extend the authorization

for appropriations for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission through fiscal

year 2000 (Rept. No. 104–104). Referred to the

Committee of the Whole House on the State

of the Union.

T57.34 PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

Under clause 5 of rule X and clause 4

of rule XXII, public bills and resolutions were introduced and severally referred as follows:

By Mr. THOMAS:

H.R. 1421. A bill to provide that references

in the statutes of the United States to any

committee or officer of the House of Representatives the name or jurisdiction of

which was changed as part of the reorganization of the House of Representatives at the

beginning of the 104th Congress shall be

treated as referring to the currently applicable committee or officer of the House of Representatives; considered and passed.

By Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin:

H.R. 1422. A bill to amend the Job Training

Partnership Act to provide for employment

and training assistance for certain individuals employed at a facility at which the employer has made a public announcement that

a substantial member of employees will be

terminated or laid off from employment; to

the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities.

By Mr. BROWN of California (for himself and Mr. TORRICELLI):

H.R. 1423. A bill to amend the Federal Meat

Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to provide for improved public

health and food safety through the reduction

in meat and poultry of harmful substances

that present a threat to public health, and

for other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture.

By Mr. STEARNS:

H.R. 1424. A bill to provide Americans with

secure, portable health insurance benefits

through tax credits, medical savings accounts, and greater choice of health insurance plans without mandates, and for other

purposes; to the Committee on Ways and

Means, and in addition to the Committee on

Commerce, the Judiciary, and Rules, for a

period to be subsequently determined by the

Speaker, in each case for consideration of

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

By Mr. BURTON of Indiana (for himself, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. COX, Mr.

FLAKE, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr.

MORAN, Mr. KING, Mr. JEFFERSON,

Mr. HUNTER, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr.

DIAZ-BALART, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. FIELDS

of Texas, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. DOOLITTLE,

Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. POMBO, Mr.

PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr.

CUNNINGHAM, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr.

CRANE, Mr. HERGER, Mrs. WALDHOLTZ, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland,

Mr. FUNDERBURK, Mr. HASTINGS of

Washington, Mr. JONES, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. STOCKMAN, Mr. PETE

GEREN of Texas, and Mr. WILSON):

H.R. 1425. A bill to suspend United States

development assistance for India unless the

President certifies to the Congress that the

Government of India has taken certain steps

to prevent human rights abuses in India; to

the Committee on International Relations.

By Mr. CLAY (for himself and Mr. WILLIAMS):

H.R. 1426. A bill to assist States and secondary and postsecondary schools to develop, implement, and improve school-towork opportunities systems so that all students have an opportunity to acquire the

knowledge and skills needed to meet challenging State academic standards and industry-based skill standards and to prepare for

postsecondary education, further learning,

and a wide range of opportunities in highskill, high-wage careers, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Economic and

Educational Opportunities.

By Mr. COSTELLO:

H.R. 1427. A bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to control House

of Representatives campaign spending, and

for other purposes; to the Committee on

House Oversight.

By Mr. DE LA GARZA:

H.R. 1428. A bill entitled, ‘‘The North

American Border Stations Improvements

Act’’; to the Committee on Transportation

and Infrastructure.

By Mr. EVANS (for himself, Mr.

GUTIERREZ, Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts, Mr. WILLIAMS, and Mr.

DOYLE):

H.R. 1429. A bill to amend title 38, United

States Code, to provide for the organization

and administration of the Readjustment

Counseling Service of the Department of

Veterans Affairs, to improve eligibility for

veterans’ readjustment counseling and related counseling, and for other purposes; to

the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

By Mr. FARR (for himself, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. POMBO, Ms.

ESHOO, Mr. HERGER, Mr. FAZIO of

California, Mrs. SEASTRAND, Mr.

BROWN of California, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. ROSE, Mr. DOOLEY, and Mr.

CALVERT):

H.R. 1430. A bill to authorize the Secretary

of Agriculture to provide emergency financial assistance to agricultural producers who

suffer severe crop losses in federally designated disaster areas; to the Committee on

Agriculture.

By Mr. FLANAGAN:

H.R. 1431. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 30-percent of

gross income limitations applicable to regulated investment companies; to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. GREENWOOD:

H.R. 1432. A bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to eliminate

multicandidate political committees, and for

other purposes; to the Committee on House

Oversight.

By Mr. HAYES (for himself and Mr.

BALLENGER):

H.R. 1433. A bill to require the Secretary of

Labor to establish a program under which

employers may consult with State officials

respecting compliance with occupational

safety and health requirements; to the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities.

By Mr. HOUGHTON (for himself and

Mr. LEVIN):

H.R. 1434. A bill to establish a commission

to review the dispute settlement reports of

the World Trade Organization, and for other

purposes; to the Committee on Ways and

Means, and in addition to the Committee on

Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

By Mr. LEWIS of Georgia:

H.R. 1435. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit the use of certain

agricultural byproducts in wine production;

to the Committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. LIPINSKI (for himself and Mr.

MINETA) (both by request):

H.R. 1436. A bill to amend subtitle IV of

title 49, United States Code, to eliminate unnecessary regulation of transportation industries, to streamline regulation of rail carriers, to sunset the Interstate Commerce

Commission, and for other purposes; to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

H.R. 1437. A bill to authorize appropriations for the National Railroad Passenger

Corporation, and for other purposes; to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

By Ms. LOWEY (for herself, Ms.

DELAURO, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mrs. KENNELLY, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. YATES, Mr.

MILLER of California. Mr. FRANK of

Massachusetts, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr.

ENGEL, Mr. MANTON, Mr. SERRANO,

Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FILNER, Ms. PELOSI,

Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. FURSE, Mr. REED,

Mr. TORRES, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. MCDERMOTT,

Mr. TOWNS, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. WATERS, Mr. DICKS Mr. VENTO, Mr.

WYNN, Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms. VELAZQUEZ, Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida, Mr.

MARTINEZ, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BERMAN,

Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO,

and Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA):

H.R. 1438. A bill to amend the Federal

Water Pollution Control Act to provide special funding to States for implementation of

national estuary conservation and management plans, and for other purposes; to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee

on Resources, for a period to be subsequently

determined by the Speaker, in each case for

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

By Mr. METCALF:

H.R. 1439. A bill to amend the National

Forest Management Act of 1976 to require

the Timber Sale Program conducted by the

Forest Service on National Forest System

lands to be financed only by receipts from

the sale of timber under the program; to the

Committee on Agriculture, and in addition

to the Committee on Resources, for a period

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the

committee concerned.

By Mr. MINETA (by request):

H.R. 1440. A bill to amend title 49, United

States Code, to simplify and improve the organization of the Department of Transportation, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

H.R. 1441. A bill to provide for the transfer

of operating responsibility for air traffic

services currently provided by the Federal

Aviation Administration on behalf of the

United States to separate corporate entity,

in order to provide for more efficient operation and development of these transportation services and related assets, and for

other purposes; to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition

to the Committees on Ways and Means, and