Since the advent of the atomic age and even before, the levels and types of pwllut- 

 ants in our air, water and land have dramatically increased. Tragically, my own 

 state of Ohio is a microcosm of many of these problems, from radioactive hazards at 

 the Fernald facility and low-level radwaste problems elsewhere in the state, to toxic 

 waste sites in Newburgh Heights, Uniontown, and on and on. In many other states, 

 the damage we have done is equally severe. For decades most of these problems 

 went unnoticed or were purposely unaddressed. We are pajing the price now and it 

 is a very high one indeed: 



• Cleanup of DOE Weajwns Complex sites, which once was estimated to cost 

 about $110 billion, is now estimated to be at least $160 billion over a 20-30 year 

 period and may go to well over $200 billion. 



• The General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates in a report released last month 

 to our Committee that American industry and government combined will spend 

 over $160 billion per year by the year 2000 to meet environmental goals. 



• GAO also estimates that we have spent over $1 trillion on environmental pro- 

 tection in the past twenty years. 



But these problems are not just domestic. They extend to the international arena 

 as well. The emissions of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gasses are believed 

 to be major contributors to the global warming phenomenon that has potential to 

 cause severe worldwide environmental and economic disruption during the next half 

 century. Over this same time period, destruction of the earth's very thin strato- 

 spheric ozone layer by chemical emissions poses potentially serious problems affect- 

 ing the Earth's food supplies and the health of millions of people. This creation of 

 ozone smog from deteriorating forests, the fall of acid rain, desertification, ocean 

 pollution and trafficking of hazardous wastes are all issues affecting the global com- 

 mons that require international agreements to achieve long term progress. The 

 United States must provide aggressive leadership toward solutions to these prob- 

 lems. In point of fact Vice President Al Gore has written extensively and well on 

 this subject, including in his book, Ekirth in the Balance. 



The Environmental Protection Agency is our Nation's primary institutional safe- 

 guard to ensure that the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the wastes we 

 dispose of are not harmful to our quality of life. Since EPA was created in 1970 its 

 workload has grown in proportion to the burgeoning environmental problems and 

 often complex Federal laws to address them. However, it has become painfully ap- 

 parent that the status of EPA does not reflect the magnitude of the environmental 

 challenges it now faces. 



It is a fact of diplomatic life, for example, that the seriousness with which one 

 views another government's concerns is influenced by the stature of the person who 

 articulates them. A subcabinet EPA sends the wrong signal to the rest of the world 

 about the priority and the leadership given by the United States to the cause of en- 

 vironmental protection. This problem has been underscored repeatedly in the past 

 by the United States' failure to send cabinet-level representatives to international 

 meetings. 



Thet me also add, finally, that when the question of elevating the Veterans Ad- 

 ministration to cabinet level status came up several years ago, we discovered that 

 there were no criteria by which to determine whether an agency should be given 

 Cabinet status. Accordingly, the Governmental Affairs Committee contracted with 

 the National Academy of Public Administration, NAPA, to develop such criteria. 

 NAPA reported to us that EPA meets well over a majority of the 14 criteria it es- 

 tablished. 



I am very pleased today that we have as our first witness Carol Browner, the new 

 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Carol is an able and excel- 

 lent choice for this post, although I must say that I do not envy her the task ahead. 

 Carol worked for Senator Lawton Chiles, a distinguished former member of this 

 Committee. She also worked for Senator Gore and has most recently been the Secre- 

 tary for Environmental Regulation for the State of Florida. Our second panel in- 

 cludes Jay Hair, President of the National Wildlife Federation, Steve Gage, Presi- 

 dent of the Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing Program, and Douglas Costle, 

 former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. They will discuss 

 some of the pressing environmental policy questions related to the elevation. I wel- 

 come these witnesses and appreciate their testimony this morning. 



Leading off this morning are a number of my colleagues from the Senate. Rep. 

 Mike Synar wanted to be here today but has been unexpectedly detained with other 

 business in the House. I want to welcome all of you and express my appreciation for 

 your interest and involvement in this very important question. Senators Baucus and 

 Chafee if you would like to go first and then the rest. 



