Norm Dicks

Mr. DICKS

Mr. DICKS. Will the gentleman yield? We don't have a copy of the gentleman's amendment. If we are going to start out this way without cooperating----

Mr. DICKS. We would like to have it.

Mr. DICKS. Bill Ruckelshaus, Bill Agee.

Mr. DICKS. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. DICKS. The restoration of the Florida Everglades has been one of our five national priorities. And I, too, want to compliment the gentleman for his support. We have moved forward with the Tamiami bridge and other important projects. This is a program of national significance, and I concur with the chairman.

Mr. DICKS. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. DICKS. I held hearings when I was chairman of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, brought in the Federal agencies, and every one of them testified that they could already see signs of the effects of climate change: one was a longer fire season; one was more drought; one was more variations in weather; and, most importantly, to the Corps of Engineers, that the seas are rising at a rate more rapidly than at any time in the last 3,000 years. Now, this is serious stuff that affects the planet. I'm glad the gentleman who chaired the committee on this took time to be here.

Mr. DICKS. I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. DICKS. There also is another aspect of this that some people don't recognize, and that is ocean acidification, which is upon us. A significant amount of carbon dioxide goes into the oceans. And that's why getting a handle on this and trying to control CO2 emissions is so very important. And when it goes into the ocean, it has a negative effect on coral and it has a negative effect on oysters. It has a negative effect on anything in a shell. In fact, there is the phytoplankton which is one of the crucial elements for salmon, 60 percent of the food for salmon. If the acidity rate gets as high, the pH rate drops and the acidity goes up, those fish will be adversely affected.

Mr. DICKS. I want to yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts, and then I will yield to the gentleman.

Mr. DICKS. What I worry about is how many of our people live on the coast of this country who could be directly impacted by rising sea levels. And the seas have gone up more rapidly in this last 50 years than it has in the last 3,000 years. Somebody's got to take this seriously. Obviously, there are some on the other side who are in denial. The gentleman said it quite correctly. They don't believe that this is real. It is real.

Mr. DICKS. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. DICKS. I appreciate the gentleman's statement. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. DICKS. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. DICKS. I yield to the distinguished chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. DICKS. I was just going to say the reason we got the thing cleaned up was because of the Clean Water Act. That's how the Potomac got cleaned up.

Mr. DICKS. And to hear this discussion over there about the Clean Water Act is really amazing. And this amendment, your amendment would improve it, would protect the environment, clarify the Supreme Court decisions so that we can get on with it and to make the waters of our country swimmable, fishable and drinkable.

Mr. DICKS. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. DICKS. The gentleman talks about the Potomac. I have been here for many, many years. I was on the staff in the other body. And at the time--and this was probably in the mid-seventies when what the gentleman says was an issue.

Mr. DICKS. What time are you talking about?

Mr. DICKS. This was more recent?

Mr. DICKS. I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. DICKS. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. DICKS. I would like to ask the gentleman a question. Does the gentleman not believe, as I do, that the Potomac River is far better today in terms of water quality because of the Clean Water Act? I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. DICKS. There were rivers, particularly in Pennsylvania, where they, in fact, did that.