SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY

LENGTH: 1894 words

HEADLINE: TESTIMONY June 13, 2000 JAMES V. AIDALA ASSISTANCE ADMINISTRATOR U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OFFICE OF PREVENTION, PESTICIDES AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES SENATE environment & public works EPA, COMMERCE APPLICATION COMMISSION NOMINATIONS CONFIRMATION

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JUNE 13, 2000 STATEMENT OF JAMES V. AIDALA U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OFFICE OF PREVENTION, PESTICIDES AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS UNITED STATES SENATE Good Morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to appear before this Committee. Today I'm seeking your confirmation to serve as Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances at EPA. It's an honor to have the opportunity to continue the important environmental and public health accomplishments launched by this Administration. I'm also looking forward to the opportunity to work with the Committee on a bipartisan basis. If confirmed as an Assistant Administrator, I am committed to building on our success in implementing our Nation's pesticide and toxic chemical laws to protect public health and the environment. Often in the contentious field of pesticide and chemical regulation, where we routinely deal with tough decisions that directly affect consumers, farmers, chemical producers, and so many others, it is imperative that we advance our work with everyone involved. Since I have been a deputy in the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances for seven years now, I believe I am uniquely qualified to bring the different parties together to find sensible solutions that further environmental and public health protection. My professional career has predominately focused on the issues relevant to this job -- pesticide and chemical regulation and protection of public health. In 1975, I started at EPA as a GS-4 summer intern in the pesticide program. Before my present position, the majority of my professional career has been spent in a variety of jobs on Capitol Hill. These positions included working for Senator Charles Percy of Illinois, Congressman Mike Synar from Oklahoma, and the Congressional Research Service. During the course of my career, I have learned many valuable lessons about how to balance competing interests especially where intense feelings and perspectives are involved. For example, I worked extensively on the 1988 and 1996 amendments to our pesticide laws, and while these legislative issues were contentious, the amendments were enacted with widespread bipartisan support. In my current position as a deputy in the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, I have helped to manage and direct a staff of approximately 1,450 employees with a budget exceeding $225 million. Our key role is to manage and implement the Nation's pesticide and chemical regulatory programs. I would like to mention a few of the key accomplishments over the last seven years, which I am proud to have been a part of. They include: Enacting the Food Quality Protection Act to bring stronger protections for infant and children regarding pesticide residues in their diet; Strengthening occupational protections for farm workers; Expediting review of new and safer pesticides; Creating the Pesticide Environment Stewardship Program to partner with farmers and others to promote use of Integrated Pests Management (IPM) and safer pesticides; Increasing the public's right to know by expanding the Toxic Release Inventory; and, Creating the High Production Volume (HPV) Chemical Challenge program to increase chemical safety and health information. It has been my goal to find common ground by bringing relevant stakeholders together and develop workable solutions. I believe that my efforts and successes are appreciated by our stakeholders. While it is late in this Administration, serving as Assistant Administrator presents many positive opportunities. Important work remains. This year alone we face an ambitious agenda, with much more to accomplish. Specifically, this year we will continue the important work of the Food Quality Protection Act. Our priorities include completing review of the organophosphates, continuing to refine the FQPA science policies, and enhancing public participation by establishing a new advisory committee on FQPA implementation. While pesticide decisions will always invite close scrutiny, I am committed to ensuring that our decisions continue be based on the best science, continue to extensively involve our customers, and continue to occur in an open and participatory process. In our Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, where we implement the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), we are reinvigorating chemical regulation through voluntary partnerships to increase the public's right to know about the safety of chemicals. EPA, in cooperation with the chemical industry and advocacy groups, is implementing the High Production Volume Chemical Challenge. This voluntary program requires manufactures to generate basic health and safety data, and make it available to EPA and the public. Also in our office, we implement the Agency's pollution prevention and lead programs. This Administration has made significant progress to increase awareness and combat childhood poisonings from lead-based paint. However, much more remains to be done. We must enhance our efforts to increase the awareness about lead-based paint hazards, and continue progress on the necessary lead regulations necessary to protect children from lead exposure. In the area of pollution prevention, I'm committed to continue a variety of initiatives underway with industry, consumer groups and others, to achieve voluntary reductions in risks associated with the use of chemicals, and to promote more sustainable technologies. During my tenure as an Assistant Administrator, I will continue to develop voluntary and innovative partnerships with the chemical industry, consumer groups, and others to expand the public's right to know about potential chemical hazards in the environment. I would like to close on a personal note. All four of my Grandparents emigrated to America through Ellis Island, and I was raised in a relatively austere household. Both of my parents dropped out of high school to make ends meet during the Great Depression. Fortunately, with some luck, some brains, and some student loans, I was able to attend some of the Nation's leading universities. From there, I have been fortunate to be able to devote my career to public service and environmental protection. For me, serving in this position will provide an opportunity to give back some of what society has afforded me. I look forward to working with the Congress as we move forward on finding better solutions to today's environmental and public health challenges. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have.

LOAD-DATE: June 15, 2000, Thursday