Bush Contaminating our Drinking Water: Withholding Funds, Leadership to Fix Leaks in Underground Storage Tanks
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President Bush has allowed underground storage tanks to fall into gross disrepair and is now trying to withhold billions in federal funds needed to fix them, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today by Democratic Reps. John Dingell and Hilda Solis.
Leaks in underground storage tanks can contaminate water supplies used by nearly half of all Americans, and the GAO reports there are some 117,000 known leaks across the nation. More than 16,000 new leaks are expected to be confirmed in the next five years. Fixing just half of the existing leaks will cost $12 billion, according to the GAO, but George Bush only requested $72 million from a trust fund specifically designed to fix this very problem.
The fund, paid for by a portion of the federal gasoline tax, has a multibillion-dollar surplus. Bush requested less than 3% of the total amount in the trust fund.
"This report shows the gross inadequacy and disgraceful nature of President Bush's most recent budget request," said Rep. Dingell, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "The inexplicable failure to use available resources to speed the cleanup of pollution that is likely to spread places human health and the environment at an increased risk."
The 106-page GAO report's conclusion was highlighted in its subtitle: "EPA Should Take Steps to Better Ensure the Efficient Use of Public Funding for Cleanups." It notes that contaminated water can contain known carcinogens and cause "health problems ranging from nausea to kidney or liver damage."
"Taxpayers deserve to know that their tax dollars are being used appropriately, not being held in escrow by the Bush Administration to offset other misguided fiscal choices," added Rep. Solis. "It is time that our nation's water quality and health become a national priority."
Click here to read the report (pdf)
Click here to order delicious Fiji Water (unlike Bush Water, it's carcinogen free!)
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He's Out To Privatize Our Water Supplies
Along with everything else that's now publicly owned or managed. It's part of his so-called Ownership Society, in which most of us will hold some sort of paper that's worth, maybe, a few years of barely getting by. Then we'll be told, "Sorry, it's your own damn fault, you didn't have what it takes, so don't expect no hand-outs." Meanwhile guess what happens to the rich and poweful?