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It is a pleasure to be here this morning to speak in support of S. 

 171, a bill to elevate the Environmental Protection Agency to a 

 Cabinet department. I know that for the past several years, Mr. 

 Chairman, you have been working very hard yourself to make EPA 

 a Cabinet-level department. I appreciate your efforts, I applaud 

 your efforts, and I want to work closely with you and with the new 

 Administration to see that this legislation becomes law as quickly 

 as possible. 



Mr. Chairman, as you know, the Environmental Protection 

 Agency was created by Executive Order in 1970 to respond to dec- 

 ades of environmental neglect. In the 23 years that have passed the 

 EPA has made considerable progress. But as we approach the 21st 

 Century it is clear that we need to be better organized to meet 

 today's environmental problems. 



Today, environmental issues are global in scale and intertwined 

 with other domestic and international issues. One of the first steps 

 we can take is to establish a new Cabinet-level Department of En- 

 vironmental Protection capable of advancing our environmental 

 ethic on a broad front. It is increasingly clear that environmental 

 policy must be made an integral part of everyday decisions 

 throughout Government and business. Trade and tax policies, in- 

 vestment decisions, energy programs all have environmental com- 

 ponents. 



I am pleased this Administration will place an emphasis on envi- 

 ronmental protection, but if we expect environmental protection to 

 in truth be a priority, if we expect to fully integrate environmental 

 policy into all of our decisions, and if we expect our environmental 

 agency to compete fairly with other Cabinet departments for scarce 

 resources, then we must insure it is on an equal footing. 



Furthermore, environmental policies can no longer be made in 

 global isolation. We now must consider the international dimen- 

 sions of environmental problems, like the thinning of the ozone 

 layer, greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and the environ- 

 mental dimensions of international trade through NAFTA or 

 through GATT. 



Elevating the Environmental Protection Agency to a Cabinet de- 

 partment is an important first step in earning greater respect from 

 the international community. As you know, most of our global com- 

 petitors, including our major trading partners, give their environ- 

 mental agencies full Cabinet status. But because we do not, the 

 United States often is put in an awkward position. Our sub-Cabinet 

 environmental officials have frequently been at a disadvantage 

 when negotiating treaties and policies with Cabinet-level ministers 

 from other nations. It sends a signal to the international communi- 

 ty that we do not attach as great importance to environmental pro- 

 tection as do other countries. 



These concerns were echoed by former EPA Administrator Bill 

 Reilly last Congress, before your Committee, when he stated, "The 

 perception of the United States Environmental Protection Agency 

 as not headed by a Cabinet officer I think strikes many other gov- 

 ernments as odd, anomalous, and difficult to understand, particu- 

 larly now as we have these interactions on such fundamental, im- 

 portant issues." 



