Congressional Digest

Excerpt

On January 1, 1970, in response to growing public con­cern for the environment and the effects of industrial pollution, President Richard Nixon signed into law the National Environmental Policy Act, establishing the Pres­ident’s Council on Environmental Quality. Soon after that, the Environmental Protection Agency was formed, Americans celebrated the first Earth Day, and Congress passed a flurry of environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and, in 1973, the Endan­gered Species Act (ESA). The ESA enjoyed near unanimous support at the time of its passage. The House report called the…