On January 6, 1965, Senator Edmund S. Muskie (D-ME) introduced S. 4, an administration-backed bill, and in this press release on the same day, declared that the purpose of the bill “is to encourage prevention of pollution as well as to attack the problem and to find more efficient ways of doing it.” Muskie, chair of the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution of the Senate Committee on Public Works, enlisted bipartisan support and 25 co-sponsors. Since the Senate had passed a similar bill by a wide margin the previous year, the Public Works Committee promptly reported Muskie’s bill on January 27, and the Senate passed S. 4 by a vote of 68 to 8 the following day.