THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 27, 1995 TAG: 9510270562
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Two Hampton Roads congressmen buy bottled water for their local offices while voting against safe drinking-water legislation in Washington, according to a new report by the group Physicians for Social Responsibility.
U.S. Reps. Norman Sisisky, D-Petersburg, whose district includes Chesapeake, Suffolk and parts of Portsmouth, and Owen B. Pickett, D-Norfolk, have spent taxpayer money for bottled water this year while voting against five pieces of legislation the physicians group believes would better protect public tap water.
The two were among 77 congressmen targeted in the report, titled ``Let Them Drink Tap Water,'' released this week.
The report comes as Congress is considering changes to the national Safe Drinking Water Act.
Groups such as Physicians for Social Responsibility fear the act may be relaxed by a Republican majority tired of government regulation.
``It's outrageous that these politicians spend our money on bottled water for themselves when they're lowering standards on the tap water for the rest of us,'' said Joseph M. Schwartz, associate director of environmental programs for the group, which counts 20,000 health professionals among its members.
Staffers for Sisisky and Pickett said the report is wrong in some places, and misleading in others.
Alice Alonge, press aide to Sisisky, said the congressman pays for a special water cooler at his Petersburg office, but that the water comes straight from the building's tap, and is therefore not ``bottled water.''
``They're trying to make their point however they can,'' Alonge said. ``This document is flawed in a number of ways. They ought to get their facts straight, including the congressman's party affiliation.'' The report lists Sisisky as a Republican; he's a Democrat.
Morris Rowe, a spokesman for Pickett, said the congressman does buy bottled water for his district offices in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, but only because there are no water fountains nearby.
The report reviews voting records on five environmental measures, including a thaw in a regulatory freeze that would let the government crack down on bacteria that contaminated water in Wisconsin and New York.
The group also looked at votes on amendments to the Clean Water Act - which would have relaxed regulations on rivers and streams that feed drinking supplies - and a measure that would have allowed tighter limits on arsenic and radon in water-quality standards.
Both revisions to the Clean Water Act were defeated in the House.
Aides to Sisisky and Pickett said the congressmen were voting for larger regulatory-reform packages and that the measures in question were viewed as last-minute riders.
``We're for clean drinking water like everyone else,'' Alonge said. ``We're also trying to find a common ground against over-regulation.''
Among other local congressmen, Rep. Bobby Scott, a Democrat representing much of Portsmouth, also buys bottled water, but he voted in favor of the five bills the group studied, the report says.
And Rep. Herb H. Bateman, a Republican whose district includes the Eastern Shore and the lower Peninsula, does not buy bottled water, but he voted against the five pieces of legislation.
``It hasn't ever come up; bottled water has not been an issue with us,'' said Dan Scandling, Bateman's press aide.
In 1992, many drinking fountains on Capitol Hill were turned off because of excessive lead in the pipes. Most congressional offices began buying bottled water and continue to do so today.
Holly Richardson, a spokeswoman for Physicians for Social Responsibility, said the report does not criticize congressmen for buying water for their Washington offices, only if they bought water for their district offices and voted against environmental legislation.
The report says Sisisky spent $1,700 on bottled water from 1992 to June 1995. But the tab includes money spent in Washington. According to the report, Pickett spent $1,500 during the same period, including expenses for water in his Capitol office. Richardson said the group's offices in Washington are serviced with bottled water, too. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Staffers for Owen B. Pickett, left, and Norman Sisisky say the
physicians' report is wrong in some places and misleading in
others.
by CNB