2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi

Transcription

When many people think back to the early 1970's, their thoughts may jump to Vietnam or Watergate. Not as well remembered was another national tragedy playing out in the nation's waterways. Just prior to action of the congress, on the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Cuyahouga River had caught on fire. Life Magazine had a picture on its cover of Lake Erie with the word - DEAD. Soaps suds were floating down the Ohio and Mississippi River in huge mounds. People were turning on their faucets for clean water and getting suds out of them instead of fresh water. There was an outcry against this pollution and destruction of the nations freshwater resources. In 1972, former Congressman Jim Oberstar was the lead staff on the house committee on public works. Of the 3.6 million miles of rivers and 40 million acres of lakes in the U.S., nearly two-thirds was considered deteriorated by pollution. Oberstar and his boss, Congressman John Blatnik, wanted to make a dramatic change. So they set to work on what became the Clean Water Act. Its goals were fairly simple. To restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation's waters. Not just the navigable waters, the nation's waters. Including the wetlands of this country, ephemeral streams - those that are intermittent streams - of which more than 60% in the west are in that category. From there, the law promised a tougher enforcement program and massive investment into wastewater treatment and rules to address the effects of phosphorus, phosphates and nitrogen being used by the growing chemical industry in the United States. The needs of the nation were immense, the challenge was huge. But facing us was the reality that all the water there ever was or ever will be on Earth is with us today. We are the custodians. We have to pass that water on to the next generation in better condition then we found it. That was a universal principal accepted by Democrats and Republicans alike. Looking back, Oberstar says it's hard to imagine that fewer than 80 million people in a nation of 200 million people were connected to wastewater treatment. As they wrote the landmark law, they encountered little opposition. Mostly from industry, but eventually even they've bought into the changes as well. When industry realized that a national law was in their interest. When industry understood that you couldn't have runaway plants that could find a safe haven for pollution, they rallied to support the bill and then wanted clearly defined standards and objectives and goals for the Clean Water Act for the future. Among the leaders in in that effort was 3M of Minnesota. Although President Nixon vetoed the Clean Water Act, congress swept aside his veto decisively. Nixon's veto was overridden by a 10-1 margin. That is extraordinary! The constitution says a two-thirds vote to override a veto. This was 10 to 1. It was an overwhelming statement of support for clean water. In the first decade and a half, the Clean Water Act prove dramatically successful. But as the federal government reduced its financial commitment, the burden of protecting water has fallen more on states and local government. Although Oberstar was never able to vote on the Clean Water Act himself, he still counts it among his proudest accomplishments. We scrapped over every line of that bill, but at the end we were all proud of it. And I consider that one of my greatest contributions to my service in congress as staff and as a member. There's nothing more precious to all Americans than the fresh water we have. Look, NASA has sent men to the moon, sent a satellite to Mars, sent a probe to a moon of Saturn, all looking for water in outer space. While we're destroying the very water here on Earth of which there is no replacement. So, we can't afford not to protect are wetlands, to protect the the freshwater we need for life, or we'll continue to send satellites to distant planets looking for water to bring back to Earth.