In 1990, Congress mandated that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submit cost/benefit reports of the Clean Air Act Amendments starting in November 1991.

It's now 1996 and Congress is still waiting for the first report.

These reports are critical because they open the window to the economic impact of this important but controversial law.

The conduct of the EPA reveals a cruel and arrogant double standard: If a small business tried to stall its way out of an EPA mandate, all hell would break loose.

Even with public criticism and a scathing attack by New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the EPA has not produced the report.

Perhaps a federal court order compelling EPA to comply with the law will get the EPA's attention. That';s why the Washington Elgal Foundation (WLF), representing nine U.S. Senators and Representatives taking a rare but powerful step, has recently filed suit.

The EPA expects - and demands - that everyone else comply with the law.

It's time they practiced what they preach.

For more information about the Foundation and its Business Civil Liberties Project, write Washington Legal Foundation, 2009 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036. And of course, p;lease feel free to reprint this message without permission.