Our fifth challenge: to leave our environment safe and clean for the next
generation. Because of a generation of bipartisan effort we do have cleaner
water and air, lead levels in children's blood has been cut by 70 percent,
toxic emissions from factories cut in half. Lake Erie was dead, and now
it's a thriving resource. But 10 million children under 12 still live
within four miles of a toxic waste dump. A third of us breathe air that
endangers our health. And in too many communities, the water is not safe to
drink. We still have much to do.
Yet Congress has voted to cut environmental enforcement by 25 percent. That
means more toxic chemicals in our water, more smog in our air, more
pesticides in our food. Lobbyists for polluters have been allowed to write
their own loopholes into bills to weaken laws that protect the health and
safety of our children. Some say that the taxpayer should pick up the tab
for toxic waste and let polluters who can afford to fix it off the hook. I
challenge Congress to reexamine those policies and to reverse them.
This issue has not been a partisan issue. The most significant
environmental gains in the last 30 years were made under a Democratic
Congress and President Richard Nixon. We can work together. We have to
believe some basic things. Do you believe we can expand the economy without
hurting the environment? I do. Do you believe we can create more jobs over
the long run by cleaning the environment up? I know we can. That should be
our commitment.
We must challenge businesses and communities to take more initiative in
protecting the environment, and we have to make it easier for them to do
it. To businesses this administration is saying: If you can find a cheaper,
more efficient way than government regulations require to meet tough
pollution standards, do it--as long as you do it right. To communities we
say: We must strengthen community right-to-know laws requiring polluters to
disclose their emissions, but you have to use the information to work with
business to cut pollution. People do have a right to know that their air
and their water are safe.