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[at-l] Clinton Gore Mark Earth Day (AP report)

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. (AP) - At a scenic overlook above the confluence of two
rivers, President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore made an Earth Day visit
to the Appalachian Trail to lend a hand to a restoration project.
Joining a group of volunteers, the president and vice president carried heavy
rocks for construction of a retaining wall. They also planted phlox in a
revegetation project. ``I'd like to stay out here with them the rest of the
day,'' the president said. ``It's great work.''
Harpers Ferry, where the Potomac River meets the Shenendoah River, is a
picturesque stopping point for hikers on the 2,160 mile Appalachian Trail
stretching from Katahdin, Maine, to Springer Mountain in Georgia.
Clinton was using his Earth Day appearance to criticize Congress for failing
to embrace his environmental priorities.
Republican lawmakers have largely abandoned their frontal assault on what they
consider overly intrusive environmental policies. No longer is there talk in
Congress of stripping the Environmental Protection Agency of its powers or
gutting the Endangered Species Act.
But GOP lawmakers, along with a few Democrats, aren't ready to embrace the
Clinton environmental agenda, either.
A range of administration proposals, from a modest package of tax cuts and
incentives to address global warming to new efforts to clean up the nation's
waterways and purchase new parkland, face stiff opposition on Capitol Hill.
Using a federal park as his backdrop, Gore stepped up his criticism of
Congress during an Earth Day-eve appearance Tuesday, accusing GOP lawmakers of
``cozying up to the worst polluters and trying to drag down our environmental
standards.''
``Congress once again is pushing back in the wrong direction,'' said Gore.
Republicans acknowledged they have significant differences with the
administration over environmental protection, but they say it's more a matter
of disagreeing on spending priorities. Also, they say, many lawmakers - both
Republicans and Democrats - disagree with Clinton on the issue of global
warming.
So, Congress is giving little indication it will act on a string of Clinton
initiatives including:
A five-year $6.3 billion package of tax breaks and spending proposals to
promote energy efficiency, programs the administration says are key to getting
an early start to addressing global warming.
A highly touted $586 million clean water initiative that for the first time
tackles agricultural runoff into lakes and streams.
A proposal to spend $364 million to expand the federal park and refuge
systems. The 94 parcels range from an ocean front lot in Acadia National Park
in Maine to a ranch in New Mexico. Another $92 million Clinton proposed for
public land improvements next year also is in jeopardy.
An additional $650 million, earmarked by the EPA to speed Superfund site
cleanup. The money has been tied to reinstatement of a Superfund tax, which
many lawmakers refuse to renew unless the controversial Superfund law is
revamped.
``Congress has learned to be more surreptitious,'' said Rodger Schlickeisen,
president of Defenders of Wildlife. ``There's not as much chest beating. Now
they're being much more cautious in their approach. But there's still an anti-
environment agenda.''
Congressional Republicans, both moderates and conservatives, scoff at such
criticism.
``There's no doubt in my mind there's a heightened sensitivity to
environmental issues,'' said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert of New York, a moderate
Republican supported by most environmental leaders. He said while some
lawmakers are anti-environment, the vast majority are not. He blames the
administration for not pushing some environmental issues, such as Superfund
reform, more aggressively.
Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee
that deals with public lands issues, contended the administration wants to
spend too much money on new land purchases at the expense of dealing with a
backlog of repairs.
``They've sent up their wish list,'' said Regula. ``But you've got to take
care of what you have.''
``This Congress is not anti-environmental,'' insisted Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-
Calif., whose Appropriations subcommittee deals with the EPA's budget. But he
said some legislators have problems with Clinton's new clean water plan
because it would impose new burdens on states without adequate federal funds.
For the first time, it would require pollution permits for large hog and
cattle feedlots. Approval of the administration's $568 million request for the
program is uncertain, even though much of that money would go to states, Lewis
said.
But some business leaders aren't happy about Congress' new environmentalism
either and question why Republicans didn't step in to roll back highly
contentious air pollution requirements issued by the EPA last year.
``You would expect the Republican Congress to at least slow this process
down,'' Thomas J. Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told
reporters recently. He said he's been disappointed ``at the total lack of
courage in Congress'' to tackle environmental issues ``for fear in the next
election they will be assailed by their opponents as anti-environment.
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