E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 107 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 147 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2001 No. 116 Senate The Senate met at 11 a.m. and was I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the complete as soon as possible, with the called to order by the President pro United States of America and to the Repub- fiscal year coming to a close at the end tempore [Mr. BYRD]. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, of this month. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The majority leader has indicated PRAYER f that he will have a vote between 5 and The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME 5:30 tonight. Senator HOLLINGS under- Ogilvie, offered the following prayer: stands that. So Members should expect The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under Father, thank You for the privilege a vote tonight between 5 and 5:30. the previous order, leadership time is to pray to You at the beginning of this The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The reserved. work week in the United States Sen- Senator from Wyoming, Mr. THOMAS, is ate. Gratefully, we remember the his- f recognized. toric event which made possible one of MORNING BUSINESS Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I yield America’s most enduring traditions. the first 15 minutes to my friend, the On September 7, 1774, the first prayer The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under Senator from Idaho. in Congress was prayed when the Con- the previous order, there will now be a The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The tinental Congress convened. We praise period for the transaction of routine Senator from Idaho is recognized for You that this declaration of depend- morning business not to extend beyond not to exceed 15 minutes. the hour of 12 noon with Senators per- ence on You led to the Declaration of f Independence twenty-two months mitted to speak therein for up to 10 THE LAST OF THE ‘‘SLUDGE’’ later. We reflect on the many times minutes each. FROM THE CLINTON ADMINIS- throughout our Nation’s history that Also under the previous order, the TRATION prayer broke deadlocks, opened the time until 11:30 a.m. will be under the way to greater unity, and brought light control of the Senator from Wyoming, Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I am on in our darkest times. As we celebrate Mr. THOMAS, or his designee. Under the the floor of the Senate today to speak the power of prayer in years past, deep- previous order, the time until 12 noon to an issue that is right in Washington en our individual and corporate prayers will be under the control of the Sen- D.C., in our midst. It is something that for this Senate and our Nation. Help us ator from Illinois, Mr. DURBIN, or his I think few of us realize, but it has to say those crucial words, ‘‘One Na- designee. begun to get the attention of the tion Under God’’ with new trust in You f American public. We have seen several this morning. news articles on it in the last month. RECOGNITION OF THE ACTING Mr. President, the Bush administra- Dear God, bless America. Guide this MAJORITY LEADER Senate to lead this Nation to greater tion inherited an environmental mess trust in You. We need a profound spir- The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The from previous administrations over the itual awakening once again. Forgive Senator from Nevada, Mr. REID, is rec- past good number of years. As I have our Nation’s humanistic secularism, ognized. said, it is right here in the backyard of materialism, and insensitivity to the f Washington, DC. The Washington Aq- problems of poverty, racism, and injus- ueduct, which is operated by the Army STATUS OF THE COMMERCE, tice. Lower Your plumb line of right- Corps of Engineers, is in violation of STATE, JUSTICE APPROPRIA- eousness on every facet of our society the Endangered Species Act and the TIONS BILL and reveal what is out of plumb for Clean Water Act. Millions of pounds of what You desire for America. May our Mr. REID. Mr. President, I spoke Fri- sludge, laced with alum, are created prayers draw us to Your heart. We day afternoon with Senator HOLLINGS, when the Potomac River water is want this prayer to begin a continuous who will manage the Commerce, State, treated for drinking water for the conversation with You throughout this Justice appropriations bill. He indi- Washington, D.C. and Northern Vir- day. Help us to listen, discern Your cated that he and Senator GREGG are ginia area. will, and obey with faithfulness. You ready to go to work. They will be on I have a picture of the release of the are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. the floor at noon today. There are a aqueduct into the Potomac River. f number of amendments, but we don’t Rather than send the sludge to a land- think there will be a lot of amend- fill, as other cities are required to do, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ments. We need to move this bill very it is dumped back into the Potomac The President pro tempore led the quickly. As soon as we finish, we have River. Strangely enough, Mr. Presi- Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: seven more appropriations bills to dent, it is dumped into the river at ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S9205 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:22 Dec 20, 2013 Jkt 081600 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 J:\ODA425\1997-2008-FILES-4-SS-PROJECT\2001-SENATE-REC-FILES\RECFILES-NEW\S mmaher on DSKCGSP4G1 with SOCIALSECURITY S9206 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 10, 2001 night. Why? I suspect so that the pub- want to pollute the water of their com- None of this is going on in the Co- lic will not see it or ask the question: munity and especially through the lumbia and Snake Rivers, and yet we What is it? Therefore, it is dumped middle of a national park. However, have five listed endangered species of through the Chesapeake and the Ohio this is the typical response of ‘‘not in salmon there. That water must be Canal National Historic Park. my backyard.’’ We now affectionately maintained in a near or pristine qual- The Corps claims that to alter this call it NIMBY or being ‘‘NIMBYfied.’’ ity, and we have all kinds of activities process so that it functions like other Clearly, in this instance, Washington going on up and down the stretch of the water treatment facilities will take is silent in its NIMBYism. The situa- rivers to improve the water quality, years to plan, to build, and to become tion, I repeat, would not be tolerated in but not in Washington and not for the operational. The only problem is that the West because a Federal court would shortnose sturgeon. they have been saying that now for order a community to stand down and The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decades. be responsible under the regulations of and the National Marine Fisheries The Corps has stated that if it were the law. Service have stated that the discharge prohibited from dumping millions of According to the Army Corps, the may also result in chemo-sensory dis- pounds of toxic sludge into the river to volume of chemically treated sludge ruption and EPA documents state that protect an endangered species would discharged into the primary, if not the the discharges may result in what we create a security crisis. What would only, spawning habitat of the endan- call bio-accumulation of harmful the crisis be? Well, it would deprive the gered shortnose sturgeon is large chemicals. I am getting a little more White House, the Congress, the courts, enough to require 15 dump truckloads a technical than is necessary. and the Pentagon of adequate drinking day to haul it away from the area. This picture is worth a thousand water. This chart is a picture taken at dawn more words than I can express about Mr. President, I have to be honest. of the sludge pouring into the river. the situation that is going on. That kind of an argument and that sit- While it is hard to see, in the distance The National Marine Fisheries Serv- uation outrages me. I believe that no lies the natural quality of the water. ice is allowing the project to proceed one should be above the law, including This is the chemical sludge that pours on the basis that the fish has not been the Nation’s Capital. Of all the places into the Potomac River during the verified in the upper tidals of the Poto- that I thought we would never hear the night. Of course, this is a picture that mac. Yet the regional director of the phrase, ‘‘not in my backyard,’’ we are is not very handsome, and I am sure National Marine Fisheries Service hearing it repeatedly said right here in the Army Corps of Engineers would not stated more than 2 years ago that stud- Washington by the Army Corps of En- like to have it dramatized, but in re- ies funded by the Corps that were crit- gineers. A situation of this nature ality, this is exactly what goes on. This ical to the analysis of the sturgeon sta- would never have occurred in the West dumping represents 15 truckloads of tus in the Potomac would commence because the Endangered Species Act material that should be hauled away that spring.