In fact, I remember talking to one of the previous heads of EPA 

 about an international meeting he had just come back from. He 

 was the only person that was not of ministerial or cabinet rank at 

 that meeting of the major nations in the world that were partici- 

 pating. I think, if for no other reason than that, it is worthy to ele- 

 vate EPA to Cabinet status. 



Let me also add, finally, that when the question of elevating the 

 Veterans Administration to Cabinet level status came up several 

 years ago before this Committee, we discovered there were no crite- 

 ria by which to determine whether an agency should be given Cabi- 

 net status. Accordingly, the Governmental Affairs Committee con- 

 tracted with NAPA, the National Academy of Public Administra- 

 tion, to do a study of this and it developed a set of such criteria. 

 Without going through all of them today, I would say that NAPA 

 reported to us that EPA meets far over a majority of the 14 criteria 

 that it established. 



I am very pleased today that we have as our first witness — after 

 our Senate colleagues who wish to testify on this arrive and have 

 given their testimony — Carol Browner, the new Administrator of 

 the Environmental Protection Agency. 



Carol is an able and excellent choice for this post. I must say I do 

 not envy her the task ahead. Carol worked for Senator Lawton 

 Chiles, who is a distinguished former member of this Committee. 

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

 tary for Environmental Regulation for the State of Florida. So she 

 comes with first-hand experience dealing with some of these prob- 

 lems at a State level. 



Our second panel includes Jay Hair, President of the National 

 Wildlife Federation; Steve Gage, President of the Cleveland Ad- 

 vanced Manufacturing Program; and Doug Costle, no stranger to 

 this Committee as a former Administrator of the Environmental 

 Protection Agency. They will discuss some of the pressing environ- 

 mental policy questions related to this proposed elevation. So we 

 welcome these witnesses and appreciate their testimony this morn- 

 ing. 



As I said, I think we have six colleagues that will be along short- 

 ly. Representative Mike S3aiar wanted to be here today and give 

 testimony. He has worked in these areas for many years. But he 

 will not be able to be with us this morning. We welcome his testi- 

 mony, though. If he wishes to submit it, we would be glad to in- 

 clude it in the record. 



I welcome all of you and express my appreciation for your inter- 

 est and involvement in this very important question. 



Prepared Statement of Senator Glenn 



Good morning and welcome to today's hearing on msiking EPA a cabinet-level de- 

 partment. Our bill to accomplish this, S. 171, was introduced on January 21, 1993 

 and has been referred to this Committee. It currently has 25 cosponsors. 



S.171 would elevate the Environmental Protection Agency to cabinet level status. 

 In addition, it would establish a bureau of environmental statistics to compile, ana- 

 lyze, and publish a comprehensive set of environmental quality statistics and pre- 

 pare an annual report. The bill also would set up a Commission on Improving Envi- 

 ronmental Protection to enhance and strengthen the management of existing pro- 

 grams within the department. Finally, the bill calls for the establishment of an 

 international greenhouse gas monitoring program and an international energy con- 

 ference on energy efficiency and renewable energy. 



