The interstate transportation of waste is not a new issue for this Committee. In each of the last 4 Congresses and now in the 106th, we have looked at this issue. This Committee held hearings in the 101st Congress and the 105th. In the 102nd, 103rd and 104th, the Senate passed interstate legislation. In the words of Yogi Berra, this is like deja vu all over again.
Despite the array of legislative proposals considered and passed by the House and the Senate over the last decade, we have never reached agreement on how to deal with transporting trash.
The Commerce Clause of the Constitution prohibits states from saying no to out-of-state trash. We have tried to eliminate that prohibition, but have not been able to reach agreement. We need to give them the right to say no, right from the start.
The debate has been complicated by the uncertainties that some communities face in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision that flow control is unconstitutional. Many believe they will be unable to meet their bond obligations without it.
We have gone round and round on both of these issues for the last decade and here we are again today. I do not know if any one of the bills that my colleagues are discussing today is the silver bullet. Maybe a combination of them will resolve this issue, but I do hope that the time will be ripe for us to finally give states the right to control the flow of trash across their borders.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and to working with them on this important issue.