The Clean Water Act is the major law designed to control the pollution of our lakes, rivers, and streams. In January 1987, Congress passed a bill to strengthen and reauthorize the Act, but President Reagan vetoed it. The bill authorized appropriations of $18 billion through fiscal 1994 in federal aid to state and local governments for construction of sewage treatment plants and authorized more than $2.14 billion for other water pollution control programs. This bill includes grants to states to control non-point source pollution from agricultural or urban runoff, and stricter controls for toxic industrial discharges in areas identified by the EPA as "toxic hot spots."

This vote is on whether to override the President's veto and pass the bill. It passed 401-26 on February 3, 1987. YES is the pro-environmental vote. The Senate also overrode the President's veto (see Senate vote #1), and the bill was enacted into law.