Air Date: Week of October 27, 2000

New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith, Chairman of the Senate Committee of Environment and Public Works, says George W. Bush’s record in Texas, along with his ability to work with both Democrats and Republicans, make him the best environmental candidate for president.

Transcript

SMITH: I'm Senator Bob Smith from New Hampshire and Chairman of the Senate, Environment and Public Works Committee. I support George W. Bush for President, and I'm confident that he will be a strong leader and a good bipartisan partner in promoting environmental protection and conservation for this country. Governor Bush believes, as I do, that we need an environmental agenda based on cooperation, not confrontation, and that we must work in partnership with states and local communities to develop new, innovative, flexible, and cooperative approaches to protecting our environment. George Bush supports more innovation and less regulation to achieve environmental results. But one thing is clear: We can only achieve environmental progress through working together in bipartisan action. Governor Bush has a record of working with Republicans and Democrats alike, and that will be necessary if we are to continue our progress toward conservation and a healthy environment. And I give you an example: in my committee on the Environment and Public Works, I worked in a bipartisan fashion with the Democrats to craft an Everglades bill. Much has been said by his opponent, Al Gore, about the environmental record of the Governor of Texas. Unfortunately, like many other statements Mr. Gore has made during the campaign, what has been said is not quite the complete truth. In fact, during George Bush's tenure, spending on natural resources in Texas has actually increased 30 percent. Today, Texas leads the nation in reducing toxic pollution. Let me repeat that: Texas, under the leadership of George W. Bush, is the number one state in the nation at reducing toxic pollution. Texas was one of the first three states in the nation that required older electric utilities to reduce emissions. With regard to clean water, the amount of available clean drinking water has increased nearly ten percent since Governor Bush took office. And Texas has also been at the forefront in cleaning up and redeveloping old abandoned industrial facilities known as brownfields. By redeveloping old sites, it's possible to preserve more open space, a true conservationist approach to economic development. Political opponents will always try to paint a negative picture, but the bottom line is simple: the environment in Texas, under the leadership of George W. Bush, is cleaner and healthier than it was the day he took office. That is a fact. It's unfortunate that there are those who wish to make the environment a political issue. And too often, environmental politics only serve to delay environmental protection. I support Governor Bush for President because he believes as I do that we are all stewards of this earth. And as the Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee in the United States Senate, I'm looking forward to working on an environmental agenda with President Bush that focuses our priorities on future generations, not the next election.

CURWOOD: Bob Smith is a Republican Senator from New Hampshire. We also heard from Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. If you want to hear our recent interview with Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, you can go to our Web site, www.loe.org. That's www.loe.org.