Twenty to 50 million tons of electronic waste (e-waste) are exported worldwide said Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) in a hearing today. Watson said it is possible to export these materials from the United States because this type of waste is exempt from export laws. According to Watson, “e-waste” pollutes water, air, and soil. She calls this development a “cyber-age nightmare.”

E-Waste is harmful because it contains dangerous toxins like lead and mercury, said Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (D-A.S.). It can be harmful for the United States as well because products we import “exposed to dangerous levels of toxins,” Faleomavaega continued. He said we have made developing countries a “dumping ground” for our “e-waste.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Environment Protection Agency’s enforcement in this area is not sufficient. Even though there were regulations for the export of cathode-ray tubes, a particularly hazardous type of e-waste, the GAO found that companies are easily circumventing these rules. John Stephenson, director of natural resources and environment issues at the GAO, said that the countries most affected by e-waste are Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, Singapore, and Pakistan. He called the exporting of e-waste a “public health issue.”

Rep. Watson (D-Calif.) says that the problems of e-waste are of the United States’ doing and require solution by the United States as well. (0:44)

 

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Rep. Eni Faleomavaega explains the problems from beginning to end regarding the export of e-waste. (0:45)

 

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Sen. Menendez (D-N.J.) says institution-building is the most important part of foreign aid even though it does not bring immediate dividends. (0:43)

 

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Sen. Menendez (D-N.J.) sees foreign aid to Latin and South America as mutually beneficial for them and the United States. (0:41)

 

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Legal Affairs Correspondent Jay Tamboli will be covering Supreme Court decisions. Chief United Nations Correspondent Dan Patterson will be covering events at the UN. The Washington Bureau will also be covering the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on “Russia, Iran and Nuclear Weapons: Implications of the Proposed U.S.-Russia Agreement”, the Joint Economic Committee’s hearing on “The Future Costs of Funding the Iraq War”, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s markup of a proposed report on the investigation of contacts between the White House and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, (more…)

Chairman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY), the middle east and South Asia subcommittee, asking the senior adviser of the secretary of state and the coordinator of Iraq, David Satterfield, about the lack of administration’s collaboration with the Congress, and questioning whether or not it is Constitutional. (01:31)

 

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The Foreign Affairs Committee held a joint hearing today on discussing the U.S. commitments to Iraq. The subcommittees organizing the hearing were the Middle East and the South Asia, led by Chairman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY), and International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, led by William D. Delahunt (D-MA).

The hearing was scheduled to have two different panels. First with the Honorable David Satterfield, senior advisor to the Secretary and Coordinator to Iraq, U.S. State Department, and the Honorable Mary Beth Long, assistant Secretary of Defense on International Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense. Professor Oona A. Hathaway from Yale Law School and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Lawrence Korb were the witnesses of the second panel.

Senior adviser David Satterfield presented the “progress towards developing a basic framework for normalized relations with the Iraqi government, which will include what is known as a Status of Forces Agreement”. This agreement raised couple of concerns amongst the members of the committee. They were upset of the ongoing lack of consultation of the current administration with Congress. The issue of starting a war without the authorization of Congress was also brought up by Chairman Ackerman, leaving both representatives of the departments with no direct answers. The chairman also questioned the administration’s ability to understand and act upon the Constitution