Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the FY 2008 Interior and the Environment Appropriations bill. From clean water funding to toxic waste cleanup to improving our national parks, this spending legislation embraces the right priorities for America.
Let’s start with funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has been slashed in real terms by 29% since 2001. This FY 2008 Interior Appropriations bill reverses that misguided trend and provides a 5% increase for the EPA over FY 2007 levels for a total of $8.1 billion. Additionally, with all of the nation’s aging water infrastructure needs, this legislation wisely rejects the President’s proposed 37% percent cut in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and funds the CWSRF at $1.1 billion. Similar increases are provided to the Superfund and Brownfields programs to clean up hazardous and industrial waste sites. This legislation also wisely retains the longstanding bipartisan moratorium on offshore drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Finally, as co-chair of the bipartisan Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force, I can report that the Chesapeake Bay Program receives a total of $30 million for our identified bay restoration priorities — $22 million for EPA’s base program and $4 million each for the small watershed and targeted watershed grant programs.
Madam Speaker, I fully support the underlying bill and welcomed the addition of strengthening amendments from my colleagues Reps. Andrews (D-NJ), Udall (D-CO) and Johnson (D-TX). America will be a cleaner, healthier and stronger place when these priorities are enacted into law.