H.R. 4394. Independent Agencies Appropriations, fiscal year 1980. The vote is on the Ambro amendment to give the Environmental Protection Agency $4 million for research on groundwater contamination, and $6 million for research on the causes and effects of acid rain. This research would help the EPA write effective regulations with data that would hold up in court. There are thousands of hazardous waste dumps all over the country, and many could and are seeping into groundwater and threatening the drinking supply of millions of people. (About 50% of the American people drink groundwater.) Acid rain is caused mainly by sulfur dioxide emissions from coal fired power plants. It can kill fish in lakes hundreds of miles away and hurt crop productivity. This amendment was not heavily lobbied, but it does give an idea which Members of Congress are most concerned about these problems. The Administration opposed the amendment. Rejected 129-237. June 22, 1979. Yes is the correct vote.