I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 525
To provide for the defense of the environment, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 3, 1999
Mr. WAXMAN (for himself, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of Califor-
nia, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. FARR of California,
Mr. OLVER, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. MEEHAN, Ms. WOOLSEY,
Ms. WATERS, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. NAD-
LER, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. FILNER,
Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BARRETT of Wiscon-
sin, Mrs. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSEN, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. PELOSI, Mr.
RUSH, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. LEWIS
of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. FATTAH, Mr.
CUMMINGS, Mr. DIXON, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr.
GEJDENSON, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. EVANS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms.
LOFGREN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr.
KUCINICH, Ms. LEE, Mr. FORD, Mr. OWENS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. TOWNS,
Mr. STARK, Mr. FROST, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. VENTO, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr.
BONIOR, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. BROWN
of Ohio, Mr. CONYERS, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. BROWN of Cali-
fornia, Mr. MATSUI, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. MOORE,
Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. JACKSON
of Illinois, Mr. BORSKI, Mr.
FALEOMAVAEGA, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr.
MARTINEZ, Mr. CLAY, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. OBEY,
Mr. ALLEN, and Mr. GREEN of Texas) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the
Committee on Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for the defense of the environment, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defense of the Envi-
ronment Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that provisions that
reduce protection of the environment have been included
in legislation without adequate consideration and an op-
portunity for Members to vote on the provisions.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) require Members of Congress to vote in the
House of Representatives and the Senate on provi-
sions included in legislation that reduce protection of
the environment; and
(2) require the Office of Management and
Budget to ensure that each department or agency
makes available to Congress and the public informa-
tion to assist in assessing whether provisions in-
cluded in legislation would reduce protection of the
environment.
SEC. 3. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall apply to any provi-
sion in a bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference
report before Congress that reduces protection of the envi-
ronment.
(b) PROVISIONS REDUCING PROTECTION.—A provi-
sion shall be considered to reduce protection of the envi-
ronment if the provision meets the criteria of one or more
of the following paragraphs:
(1) DEFENSE OF CLEAN AIR AND WATER.—The
provision may allow increased pollution of ambient
air, indoor air, surface water, ground water, the
oceans, or other terrestrial or aquatic resources.
(2) DEFENSE OF NATIONAL PARKS AND PUBLIC
LANDS.—The provision may—
(A) cause adverse impacts on the environ-
mental quality of national parks or other public
lands, including the effect of decreasing the
quantity or quality of outdoor educational or
recreational opportunities on such lands; or
(B) diminish protection of species that
may be endangered.
(3) DEFENSE OF CHILDREN’S ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH.—The provision may increase children’s ex-
posure to environmental contaminants and other en-
vironmental risks.
(c) OTHER PROVISIONS.—A provision shall also be
considered to reduce protection of the environment if the
provision may have the effect of shielding any violators
of environmental laws from penalties or limiting judicial
review of agency action under the authority of any envi-
ronmental law.
(d) BASELINE FOR EFFECTS.—The baseline for de-
termining the effects of a provision described in subsection
(b) or (c) shall be the circumstances that would exist if
the provision were not enacted.
SEC. 4. DUTIES OF CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—When a committee of the House
of Representatives or Senate or a committee of conference
reports a bill or joint resolution of public character that
includes any provision that reduces protection of the envi-
ronment, the report of the committee accompanying the
bill or joint resolution (or the statement of managers ac-
companying the conference report) shall contain each of
the following:
(1) An identification and description of any
provision in the bill or joint resolution or conference
report that reduces protection of the environment.
(2) A qualitative and, if practicable, a quan-
titative assessment of the extent of the reduction in
protection of the environment.