34 



These companion legislative initiatives also direct the Administrator to establish 

 a program to transfer environmental technologies and information to outside groups. 



Over many years, I have heard witnesses repeatedly stress the importance of 

 sound science as the basis for sound policy and regulations. Passage of these bills 

 will demonstrate that the Congress is serious in meeting its obligation to ensure 

 that EPA conducts better science on which to promulgate sounder policy for the na- 

 tion's long-term viability. 



We, in the House of Representatives, commend your leadership in this area and 

 pledge to work closely with you on this and other legislation to guarantee that all 

 Americans can experience the level of environmental quality they expect and de- 

 serve. 



I want to thank the Gentleman again for convening this hearing and for inviting 

 me to appear today. 



Statement of Hon. Tim Valentine, U.S. Representative from the State of 



North Carolina 



Mr. Chairman, I commend you for convening this hearing on the Office of Re- 

 search and Development at the Environmental Protection Agency. As you know, the 

 House of Representatives passed legislation, H.R. 1994, last year which is very simi- 

 lar to your bill, S. 1545. 



As you may know, in the district that I represent in North Carolina, there are 

 approximately 1,200 EPA Federal employees. The majority of those employees are 

 scientists at the EPA research laboratories and offices located in the Research Tri- 

 angle Park and surrounding area: The Air and Energy Engineering Research Lab- 

 oratory, the Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory, the 

 Health Effects Research Laboratory, and the Environmental Criteria and Assess- 

 ment Office. 



The applied research mission of EPA is critical to the solution of America's envi- 

 ronmental problems. The research conducted in and supported by the laboratories 

 in North Carolina and Nevada, as well as those throughout the country, has pro- 

 vided the base for many of the actions taken by environmental regulatory agencies 

 both in this country and around the world. The need for this environmental re- 

 search will only increase in the coming years as we are faced with even more com- 

 plex environmental crises. 



It is imperative that EPA maintain a high quality, credible research program. 

 EPA cannot afford to establish regulations based on poor quality or insufficient sci- 

 entific data. The regulatory decisions must be based on the very best scientific evi- 

 dence available. I believe H.R. 1994 and S. 1545 will help to accomplish this goal. 



It is important to remember that EPA ranks behind NASA, the Department of 

 Energy, the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation in the 

 amount of Federal money appropriated to conduct environmental research and de- 

 velopment. This is an extremely important point that I wish to underscore, consider- 

 ing that the regulations that are promulgated by the EPA are estimated by some 

 to cost industry over $150 billion per year. 



ORD's budget is well under 10 percent of the total EPA budget. How can we ex- 

 pect the EPA to write regulations that are free from unnecessary uncertainty when 

 we do not provide the funds required to conduct the essential research that would 

 answer regulators' questions? 



I would like to take a few minutes to detail the provisions that are in my bill. 



The fundamental research program section would, for the first time, emphasize 

 the importance of an integrated long-term, basic research program at EPA. In addi- 

 tion, this section requires a report from EPA every 2 years detailing the fundamen- 

 tal research being conducted by the Agency. 



The section on the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program would au- 

 thorize the EPA to design a long-term monitoring program. This type of program 

 is vital if we have any hope at being able to anticipate the future environmental 

 problems. 



