[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 291 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 291

      Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a 
 Presidential commission should be established to investigate whether 
 there has been any measurable depletion of stratospheric ozone beyond 
 that caused by natural phenomena, whether it has been proven that the 
use of chloroflourocarbons damages stratospheric ozone, and whether the 
 phaseout of chloroflourocarbons will have any effect on stratospheric 
                                 ozone.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 28, 1993

Mr. Doolittle submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a 
 Presidential commission should be established to investigate whether 
 there has been any measurable depletion of stratospheric ozone beyond 
 that caused by natural phenomena, whether it has been proven that the 
use of chloroflourocarbons damages stratospheric ozone, and whether the 
 phaseout of chloroflourocarbons will have any effect on stratospheric 
                                 ozone.

Whereas, based on the theory that man-made chemicals contribute to ozone 
        depletion and are responsible for the thinning of the ozone layer in the 
        stratosphere and the creation of the ``ozone hole'', the United States 
        in 1987 signed the Montreal Protocol to ban chloroflourocarbons 
        (hereinafter in this preamble referred to as ``CFCs'') by the year 2000;
Whereas on February 17, 1992, the United States made a further unilateral 
        commitment to complete the phaseout of CFCs by 1995;
Whereas substantial questions have been raised by many prominent scientists 
        regarding the validity of the theory that the ozone layer in the 
        stratosphere is thinning and that man-made chemicals cause such 
        thinning;
Whereas scientists have challenged the accuracy and interpretation of the data 
        that are being used to support the claim that the ozone layer is 
        thinning;
Whereas scientists have pointed out that the seasonal variation in the thickness 
        of the ozone layer above Antarctica was first measured in the mid-1950s 
        by British scientist Gordon Dobson, as well as by a French scientific 
        team, BEFORE the use of CFCs became extensive;
Whereas it has been alleged that it is the chlorine in the CFCs that breaks down 
        ozone molecules and causes a thinning in the ozone layer, even though 
        600 million tons of chlorine are released each year into the atmosphere 
        from the evaporation of seawater and 36 million tons of chlorine are 
        released each year from volcanoes, compared to only 7,500 tons of 
        chlorine released from the breakdown of CFCs;
Whereas CFCs thus contribute about 1 thousandth of 1 percent of the total amount 
        of chlorine released into the atmosphere by natural sources;
Whereas it is estimated that the mandated phaseout of CFCs may require the 
        replacement of 610 million refrigerators and freezers, 120 million cold 
        storage units, 150 million automobile air conditioners, and several 
        thousand refrigeration units used for the storage of medicine, blood 
        supplies, and vaccines, because the approved replacement chemical cannot 
        be used in existing refrigeration systems;
Whereas CFCs are noncorrosive, nontoxic, safe, and relatively inexpensive to 
        produce;
Whereas the main refrigerant replacement approved by the Environmental 
        Protection Agency to replace freon, one of the CFCs, not only requires 
        different equipment but is toxic, costly, and so corrosive that it will 
        require replacement of the equipment in which it is being used every 3 
        to 7 years;
Whereas it is estimated by the refrigeration industry that the cost of 
        replacement of equipment in which CFCs are being used in the United 
        States and the increased cost of the replacement refrigerant could cost 
        industry and consumers $2 trillion;
Whereas such replacement will mean an interruption in food storage and 
        preservation in the United States, where 75 percent of the food consumed 
        is refrigerated through the use of CFCs; and
Whereas such a delay in the development and an interruption in the food delivery 
        chain will have particularly severe effects in the developing countries, 
        where it could cause an estimated additional 20 to 40 million deaths per 
        year from disease and starvation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) a Presidential commission should be established to 
        investigate whether there has been any measurable depletion of 
        stratospheric ozone beyond the seasonal variations caused by 
        natural phenomena, such as the Arctic winter and loss of 
        sunlight;
            (2) such a commission should also investigate whether it 
        has been proven that the use of man-made chloroflourocarbons 
        damages stratospheric ozone, and whether the phaseout of 
        chloroflourocarbons will have any effect on levels of ozone in 
        the stratosphere; and
            (3) the membership of the commission should be equally 
        apportioned between representatives from the scientific 
        community whose published experimental and theoretical research 
        shows that chloroflourocarbons have a negligible, if any, 
        effect on ozone depletion, and representatives whose research 
        makes contrary claims.

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