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The fixer
By Murray Waas
How Kenneth Starr's law partner covertly worked for six years to trap President Clinton in a sex scandal
(10/06/98)
Mistakes were made
By Gene Lyons
What Ken Starr Forgot: the Law
(10/05/98)
Sex scandals can be contagious
By Aisiah Abdullah
Letter from Kuala Lumpur
(10/02/98)
Scaife tells why he cut off Spectator's funding
By Murray Waas
Why Scaife cut off funds to the Arkansas Project: Reclusive billionaire points the finger at fellow Arkansas Project conspirators in testimony before the grand jury
(10/01/98)
Protected witness, Part Two
By Murray Waas
Law enforcement records obtained by Salon reveal a two-year effort by Kenneth Starr to impede the Arkansas prosecution of David Hale
(09/30/98)
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MEANWHILE, BACK ON CAPITOL HILL ... | PAGE 1, 2
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The rider constraining EPA's regulation of General Electric's cleanup of PCBs was introduced by Gerald Solomon, a Republican from New York. As chairman of the House Rules Committee, Solomon, like Stevens, has considerable power over his colleagues; the Rules Committee decides which bills come to a vote on the House floor. Solomon has a large GE factory in his district -- indeed, a factory whose previous production of PCBs has helped pollute the Hudson. Solomon also happens to have received more campaign contributions from GE this year than any other member of the House of Representatives. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, as analyzed by the watchdog group the Center for Responsive Politics, GE had contributed $7,000 to Solomon through Sept. 1 of this year. (By contrast, most other members of Congress supported by GE received from $500 to $1,500.)
The rider that Solomon originally introduced sounded innocuous enough. It said the Environmental Protection Agency could not compel cleanup of PCBs until a study of the problem was completed by the National Academy of Sciences and distributed and analyzed by all parties to the dispute. But since General Electric is one of those parties, critics charged, the rider would enable GE to delay indefinitely any cleanup simply by claiming it had not finished analyzing the NAS study. On Tuesday evening, Solomon's rider was amended to deny GE veto power over EPA regulations. EPA was, however, still urged not to order dredging until after completion of the NAS study in 1999.
"GE has engaged in political and scientific conduct that is dangerous to the health of New Yorkers," says Richard Brodsky, a Democratic assemblyman who chairs the Environment Committee of the New York Legislature. Brodsky, whose district includes some of the Hudson Valley communities endangered by PCBs, believes GE is opposed to full-scale dredging "because there are some 70 other PCB-contaminated sites across the country and dredging them all could cost GE hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars."
"That's just not something we'd have a comment on one way or the other," says David Warshaw of General Electric.
Michael Power, Solomon's press spokesman, says he is unaware of how much GE contributes to his boss and argues that since "GE is a huge, worldwide company, it's ridiculous to imply that its success rides on what Congressman Solomon does in relation to the Hudson River." Power insists no one knows what's best for the Hudson: It might be full-scale dredging; it might be letting the PCBs dissipate naturally. Solomon simply wants the decision to be "based on sound science," Power says.
Although Republicans like Solomon and Stevens are behind many of the anti-environmental riders now under consideration on Capitol Hill, some Democrats have also gotten in on the act. It was Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., who reportedly authored the rider that would delay EPA regulation of mercury emissions by electric power plants. "The latest version of the rider would prohibit EPA from issuing rules on mercury for 18 months, which is totally unacceptable. There's no need to delay action on such a toxic chemical," says Anna Aurilio, the staff scientist at U.S. Public Interest Research Group, an environmental and consumer watchdog group.
Mercury is a neurological toxin that attacks the central nervous system and is especially harmful to developing fetuses. It is mostly found in lakes and rivers -- 40 states warn pregnant women not to eat fish caught in certain waterways. The chief sources of emissions are from medical and municipal waste plants and coal-fired power plants. Existing EPA rules will reduce mercury emissions from medical and municipal waste facilities 90 percent by 2002 (compared to 1990 levels). That leaves coal-fired power plants as the largest remaining source of mercury, responsible for one-third of total emissions.
Yet the political clout of the coal and electric utility industries has so far blocked meaningful regulation. The Molihan rider, for example, would prevent the EPA from regulating coal plants' mercury emissions until the National Academy of Science had completed a study of the issue. Linda Schoumacher, a spokeswoman for the Edison Electric Institute, the utility industry trade association, claims the EPA itself has acknowledged further study is needed before regulation could be justified. But the EPA said no such thing, according to an EPA official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"This is the standard rubric of industries facing regulation -- that the science is imperfect," says this official. "And it's true there's always more you'd like to know. But that shouldn't be an excuse for not acting on what we do know." The Molihan rider's requirement of a National Academy of Science study, adds the official, would be "completely redundant, because we've already done a comprehensive mercury study at EPA." The real effect of the rider would be to delay regulations that are inevitable, thus causing untold additional cases of mercury poisoning.
The coal industry, joined by segments of the oil and auto industries, also supports the rider that would gag executive branch officials regarding the Kyoto treaty. "The Kyoto rider is so disingenuous," says John Stanton, legislative director of the National Environmental Trust. "Republicans say they're not opposed to the treaty as long as we can get developing country participation. Then they put through the back door a rider that would prohibit the State Department from talking with EPA about how to encourage developing country participation."
Other anti-environmental riders would let sport utility vehicles continue to evade passenger-car fuel-efficiency standards, delay safety requirements for the transport of hazardous materials and pay timber companies a multimillion-dollar subsidy for cutting in Alaska's Tongass National Forest.
Citizen mobilization has stopped two anti-environmental riders (one would have tripled logging in three national forests in California, the other would have expanded cattle grazing on federal lands), and environmentalists hope that phone calls from angry constituents will frighten lawmakers into abandoning the rest. Last week, 153 Democrats signed a letter to President Clinton urging him to veto any appropriations bills containing anti-environmental riders. Those 153 votes are enough to prevent a congressional override of a presidential veto. In that event, Congress and the White House would find themselves in a game of chicken reminiscent of 1995: Their collective failure to pass the appropriations bills would force the government to shut down until one side or the other backed down.
Last time, it was the Republicans who suffered politically for shutting down the government. Perhaps they calculate that Clinton is too weak to oppose them now. Or perhaps they welcome another government shutdown. After all, it was a White House intern's pizza deliveries during the last shutdown that led to the scandal that is now so usefully distracting attention from the real business of Washington politics.
SALON | Oct. 7, 1998
Mark Hertsgaard, a frequent contributor to Salon, is the author of "On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency." His next book, "Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future," will be published in December by Broadway Books.

Get the full text of Starr's supporting evidence. T A B L E+T A L K Is it possible anymore for a couple or family to get by on just one salary? Join the discussion in the Work Life area of Table Talk R E C E N T L Y The fixer By Murray Waas How Kenneth Starr's law partner covertly worked for six years to trap President Clinton in a sex scandal (10/06/98) Mistakes were made By Gene Lyons What Ken Starr Forgot: the Law (10/05/98) Sex scandals can be contagious By Aisiah Abdullah Letter from Kuala Lumpur (10/02/98) Scaife tells why he cut off Spectator's funding By Murray Waas Why Scaife cut off funds to the Arkansas Project: Reclusive billionaire points the finger at fellow Arkansas Project conspirators in testimony before the grand jury (10/01/98) Protected witness, Part Two By Murray Waas Law enforcement records obtained by Salon reveal a two-year effort by Kenneth Starr to impede the Arkansas prosecution of David Hale (09/30/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - S A L O N E M P O R I U M FREE! 12-ounce bag of Salon Blend with a purchase of $30 or more. While supplies last.
		MEANWHILE, BACK ON CAPITOL HILL ... \| PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - The rider constraining EPA's regulation of General Electric's cleanup of PCBs was introduced by Gerald Solomon, a Republican from New York. As chairman of the House Rules Committee, Solomon, like Stevens, has considerable power over his colleagues; the Rules Committee decides which bills come to a vote on the House floor. Solomon has a large GE factory in his district -- indeed, a factory whose previous production of PCBs has helped pollute the Hudson. Solomon also happens to have received more campaign contributions from GE this year than any other member of the House of Representatives. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, as analyzed by the watchdog group the Center for Responsive Politics, GE had contributed $7,000 to Solomon through Sept. 1 of this year. (By contrast, most other members of Congress supported by GE received from $500 to $1,500.) The rider that Solomon originally introduced sounded innocuous enough. It said the Environmental Protection Agency could not compel cleanup of PCBs until a study of the problem was completed by the National Academy of Sciences and distributed and analyzed by all parties to the dispute. But since General Electric is one of those parties, critics charged, the rider would enable GE to delay indefinitely any cleanup simply by claiming it had not finished analyzing the NAS study. On Tuesday evening, Solomon's rider was amended to deny GE veto power over EPA regulations. EPA was, however, still urged not to order dredging until after completion of the NAS study in 1999. "GE has engaged in political and scientific conduct that is dangerous to the health of New Yorkers," says Richard Brodsky, a Democratic assemblyman who chairs the Environment Committee of the New York Legislature. Brodsky, whose district includes some of the Hudson Valley communities endangered by PCBs, believes GE is opposed to full-scale dredging "because there are some 70 other PCB-contaminated sites across the country and dredging them all could cost GE hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars." "That's just not something we'd have a comment on one way or the other," says David Warshaw of General Electric. Michael Power, Solomon's press spokesman, says he is unaware of how much GE contributes to his boss and argues that since "GE is a huge, worldwide company, it's ridiculous to imply that its success rides on what Congressman Solomon does in relation to the Hudson River." Power insists no one knows what's best for the Hudson: It might be full-scale dredging; it might be letting the PCBs dissipate naturally. Solomon simply wants the decision to be "based on sound science," Power says. Although Republicans like Solomon and Stevens are behind many of the anti-environmental riders now under consideration on Capitol Hill, some Democrats have also gotten in on the act. It was Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., who reportedly authored the rider that would delay EPA regulation of mercury emissions by electric power plants. "The latest version of the rider would prohibit EPA from issuing rules on mercury for 18 months, which is totally unacceptable. There's no need to delay action on such a toxic chemical," says Anna Aurilio, the staff scientist at U.S. Public Interest Research Group, an environmental and consumer watchdog group. Mercury is a neurological toxin that attacks the central nervous system and is especially harmful to developing fetuses. It is mostly found in lakes and rivers -- 40 states warn pregnant women not to eat fish caught in certain waterways. The chief sources of emissions are from medical and municipal waste plants and coal-fired power plants. Existing EPA rules will reduce mercury emissions from medical and municipal waste facilities 90 percent by 2002 (compared to 1990 levels). That leaves coal-fired power plants as the largest remaining source of mercury, responsible for one-third of total emissions. Yet the political clout of the coal and electric utility industries has so far blocked meaningful regulation. The Molihan rider, for example, would prevent the EPA from regulating coal plants' mercury emissions until the National Academy of Science had completed a study of the issue. Linda Schoumacher, a spokeswoman for the Edison Electric Institute, the utility industry trade association, claims the EPA itself has acknowledged further study is needed before regulation could be justified. But the EPA said no such thing, according to an EPA official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This is the standard rubric of industries facing regulation -- that the science is imperfect," says this official. "And it's true there's always more you'd like to know. But that shouldn't be an excuse for not acting on what we do know." The Molihan rider's requirement of a National Academy of Science study, adds the official, would be "completely redundant, because we've already done a comprehensive mercury study at EPA." The real effect of the rider would be to delay regulations that are inevitable, thus causing untold additional cases of mercury poisoning. The coal industry, joined by segments of the oil and auto industries, also supports the rider that would gag executive branch officials regarding the Kyoto treaty. "The Kyoto rider is so disingenuous," says John Stanton, legislative director of the National Environmental Trust. "Republicans say they're not opposed to the treaty as long as we can get developing country participation. Then they put through the back door a rider that would prohibit the State Department from talking with EPA about how to encourage developing country participation." Other anti-environmental riders would let sport utility vehicles continue to evade passenger-car fuel-efficiency standards, delay safety requirements for the transport of hazardous materials and pay timber companies a multimillion-dollar subsidy for cutting in Alaska's Tongass National Forest. Citizen mobilization has stopped two anti-environmental riders (one would have tripled logging in three national forests in California, the other would have expanded cattle grazing on federal lands), and environmentalists hope that phone calls from angry constituents will frighten lawmakers into abandoning the rest. Last week, 153 Democrats signed a letter to President Clinton urging him to veto any appropriations bills containing anti-environmental riders. Those 153 votes are enough to prevent a congressional override of a presidential veto. In that event, Congress and the White House would find themselves in a game of chicken reminiscent of 1995: Their collective failure to pass the appropriations bills would force the government to shut down until one side or the other backed down. Last time, it was the Republicans who suffered politically for shutting down the government. Perhaps they calculate that Clinton is too weak to oppose them now. Or perhaps they welcome another government shutdown. After all, it was a White House intern's pizza deliveries during the last shutdown that led to the scandal that is now so usefully distracting attention from the real business of Washington politics. SALON \| Oct. 7, 1998 Mark Hertsgaard, a frequent contributor to Salon, is the author of "On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency." His next book, "Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future," will be published in December by Broadway Books.