Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to offer a straightforward and commonsense motion to recommit that will protect our country's drinking water. My amendment is an important proposal that, if adopted, will allow a vote on final passage to proceed immediately.

My motion simply clarifies that the provisions of H.R. 2018 do not affect our country's ability to limit pollution of drinking water supplies, including arsenic and perchlorate pollution. Communities across America have suffered from arsenic and perchlorate contamination, a problem with well-documented and serious consequences. In fact, based on information publicly available on government Web sites, there are at least 71 congressional districts that would be directly impacted by my amendment. These 71 districts have local waters that are contaminated with significant amounts of arsenic and/or perchlorate.

I would like to insert into the Record the congressional districts that have these toxins in their waters and urge all of my colleagues, especially those representing these locations, to vote for my amendment.

Arsenic and perchlorate have been linked to many harmful health effects. These effects include bladder, liver, lung and prostate cancers, reproductive and development impediments, and thyroid complications. These health problems have no party line. They affect Democrats and Republicans alike. According to the Centers for Disease Control and other experts, the effects of the contamination can either be short lived or linger for years within the body. These consequences can be especially tragic for children and the most vulnerable among us.

Many of us have experienced one of these conditions or witnessed a loved one going through a serious illness. It's a heartbreaking experience. No matter what our differences on policy matters or the legislation we are debating today, I know that all of us believe we should do everything we can to prevent these diseases.

Our country has made tremendous progress in improving water quality in the decades since the Clean Water Act was passed. We have doubled the amount of waters that are safe for fishing and swimming since the Clean Water Act was passed decades ago. That's a proud legacy and one that we should strive to continue. One of the most basic things we can do is to prevent contamination from serious toxins like arsenic. As written, H.R. 2018 ties our country's hands and makes it more difficult to combat pollution of our drinking water supplies.

Today, more than 200 million Americans rely on public drinking water systems that utilize surface waters. Preserving the quality of water is critically important to the millions of Americans who rely on it for drinking, to farmers who rely on it for clean water to grow their crops, and to the businesses around the country that depend on healthy waterways. My amendment is needed to protect the health and well-being of tens of millions of Americans.

Now, we can have legitimate differences and vigorous debate about the proper roles of State and Federal Government, but we should all be united to preserve clean, healthy drinking water for ourselves, our children, and future generations.

I will say again that if my amendment is adopted, a vote on final passage of H.R. 2018 will proceed immediately. The motion to recommit is an important policy proposal, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Please do the right thing for families and businesses across America and stand up for the health and safety of our drinking water.

I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense motion to recommit.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source