Copyright 1999 Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service
JUNE 17, 1999, THURSDAY
SECTION: IN THE NEWS
LENGTH:
495 words
HEADLINE: PREPARED STATEMENT OF
SENATOR
HARRY REID
BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND
PUBLIC WORKS
BODY:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for
holding a hearing on these important issues.
I would like to welcome my
colleagues, Senators Robb, Bayh, and Specter to today's hearing. All three of
you are representing slightly different, but compatible points of view on
interstate transport of solid waste.
Senator Bayh, I supported your
predecessor, Senator Coats, in his efforts to impose some reasonable,
state-option restrictions on transport of solid waste and I am glad to see that
you have taken up that torch.
Senator Specter, we also have worked on this
and many other issues in recent years. I am delighted to see you here today.
Senator Robb, I am most familiar with your situation. I spend a fair bit of
time in Virginia. My home when I am here is in your neck of the woods. I have
witnessed first hand how hard you have worked, in conjunction with my good
friend, Senator Warner, to try to introduce some reasonable restrictions on
interstate transport.
I have read your bill and it seems like it makes some
reasonable, common sense changes to the rules of the road. As someone who has
spent much of his career trying to keep waste of another kind out of my state, I
know someone who is willing to fight to the finish for his state when I see him.
I am proud to work with you on this issue.
It is not my goal this morning to
put anyone on the spot, but do not dismiss lightly the similarities between
forcing states to accept unwanted trash from other states and the desire of many
in this body to force Nevada to accept waste from America's nuclear reactors.
Nevada does not rely on nuclear power and never has. Nevada has never wanted
and never will want a dump at Yucca Mountain, yet here we are.
Worse, rather than closing 110 "landfills" and opening just one, we are
really just opening the 111th landfill.
Again, I don't want to beat this to
death this morning, but it often seems like "states' rights" is just something
we pay lip service to on this issue.
We spend a lot of time in the Committee
talking about kitchen table, quality of life issues that affect the everyday
lives of all Americans.
In the last year alone, we have addressed issues of
congestion, air quality, and drinking water quality. These are issues that
concern most people every day.
As part of our effort to alleviate these
problems, this Committee has worked hard to ensure that our states and local
governments have the tools and resources they need to effectively combat these
quality of life detriments.
Tremendous resource flexibility under TEA-21 and
the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Fund are both examples of this Committee
listening to our governors, mayors, and state assemblymen when they have told us
what they need to most effectively run our states.
Today, we are considering
three bills in this same tradition. Our states are telling us that they want and
need the ability to say, "No," to other states that want to ship their trash
out-of-state.
END
LOAD-DATE: June 19, 1999