President of the U.S., 1993-2001; Former Democratic Governor (AR)
1981: Dumbest mistake: paid for roads by car tag fees
Bill decided that road-building was a way to drag the state toward modernity in at least one way. It would be his signature issue. Arkansas roads were a disaster, undermining the economic future of the state, which was heavily dependent on trucking.
But to fund $3.3 billion in highway & road improvements, he unwisely gave lobbyists for the trucking & poultry industries a dominant hand in devising a formula for additional taxes on car license fees. The fees would be based on weight, not value, of a
registered vehicle. Thus, in a state full of old pickups & junkers, the less-well-off generally paid higher tax fees than the swells who drove around in faster, newer, lighter, costlier cars.
"I could sign the bill into law and have a good road
program paid for in an unfair way, or veto it and have no road program at all. I signed the bill. It was the single dumbest mistake I ever made in politics until 1994 when I agreed to ask for a special prosecutor in the Whitewater case," said Bill.
Imposed 608 pages of ergonomic rules in final days in office
Several days before he left office, Bill Clinton imposed a full 608 pages of "ergonomic" rules, aimed at complaints of repetitive motion injuries that saddled business with compliance nightmares. The SBA estimated that the ergonomics rules would have cos
American businesses $60 to $100 billion a year. These rules would have opened the door for government inspectors to intrude on those who work at home. Fortunately, Congress repealed the ergonomic rules soon after Pres. Clinton left the White House.
Source: The Final Days, by Barbara Olsen, p. 89
Sep 25, 2003
Lowered arsenic levels in drinking water
Clinton's EPA worked feverishly in January 2001 with environmental groups and farm worker unions to produce new regulations for the first time in
60 years, to require substantially lower quantities of arsenic, a naturally occurring substance, in drinking water. The new rule reduced the standard from 59 parts per billion to 10 parts per billion.
Source: The Final Days, by Barbara Olsen, p. 89
Sep 25, 2003
False choice between economy and environment
From our inner cities to our pristine wild lands, we have worked hard to ensure that every American has a clean and healthy environment. We’ve rid hundreds of neighborhoods of toxic waste dumps, and taken the most dramatic
steps in a generation to clean the air we breathe. We have made record investments in science and technology to protect future generations from the threat of global warming. We’ve worked to protect and restore our most
glorious natural resources, from the Florida Everglades to California’s redwoods to Yellowstone. And we have, I hope,
finally put to rest the false choice between the economy and the environment, for we have the strongest economy perhaps in our history, with a cleaner environment.
Source: WhiteHouse.gov web site
Jan 11, 2000
Much left to do on clean air, water, & environment
Much remains to be done. A third of us still breathes air that endangers our health. Our national parks are badly in need of funds for adequate maintenance and staffing. Many species remain in danger of extinction. In too many communities the water is
unsafe to drink. Some 10 million children under twelve live and play within four miles of a toxic waste dump. We have cleaned up a lot of our waterways, but more than a third of our streams still need work. The list of work to be done is long, but we
have made considerable progress.
I have never believed we had to choose between either a clean and safe environment or a growing economy. Protecting the health and safety of all Americans doesn’t have to come at the expense of our economy’s bottom
line. And creating thriving companies and new jobs doesn’t have to come at the expense of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, or the natural landscape in which we live. We can, and indeed must, have both.
