Opening Statement By Chairman Bart Gordon

This morning the Committee will consider H.R.1580, the Electronic Waste Research and Development Act and H.R. 1145, the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009.

Billions of cell phones, computers, televisions, and other electronic products, once the latest technology, are now being thrown into landfills. This is a waste of valuable resources, and it is a growing environmental problem. We need to do more to make recycling easy and affordable and to make sure the electronic products manufactured in the future are as environmentally sound as they can be.

If we are going to address this issue, we need research and development, and we need to train present and future designers of this equipment to think about the entire life-cycle of their products. That is what H.R 1580 is all about.

The second bill we will consider this morning is H.R. 1145, which will ensure that the water research and development programs that are spread across over 20 federal agencies are coordinated to make maximum use of funding resources.

There is no resource more valuable than water. It is essential to all of us, everyday, for everything we do. For too long we have ignored the warning signs that our water supplies are in trouble.

We must do more to conserve water and maintain its quality. We must take a more strategic approach at the federal level and we must ensure the federal government supports our state, local and tribal governments – the entities that are the stewards of these resources on a day-to-day basis.

I thank the Members for their participation this morning and I look forward to a productive markup.

I now recognize Mr. Hall to present his opening remarks.