[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 149 (Thursday, December 1, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: December 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
REGULATORY DIFFERENTIATION OF ANIMAL FATS AND VEGETABLE OILS STATEMENT 
                         OF SENATOR TOM HARKIN

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, on this final day of the 103d Congress I 
want to mention my interest in continuing to work in the next Congress 
to enact legislation to clarify Congressional intent regarding the 
regulation of animal fats and vegetable oils under provisions of the 
Oil Pollution Act of 1990. I was pleased to have the opportunity during 
this session to work with Senator Lugar on legislation designed to 
bring a common sense resolution to the regulation of these animal fats 
and vegetable oils. I hope that we will be able to bring these efforts 
to fruition in the next Congress.
  Last spring, with Senator Lugar's cosponsorship, I introduced 
legislation, S. 2065, to require that Federal agencies, in implementing 
the Oil Pollution Act, differentiate between animal fats and vegetable 
oils, and other oils and greases, including petroleum products. Later 
in the session we worked to enact provisions addressing this problem as 
a part of other legislation, and did finally succeed in gaining 
unanimous Senate passage on October 8 of S. 2559, a free-standing bill 
consisting of language similar to that which had previously been passed 
only by the House as parts of larger bills. Unfortunately, there was no 
opportunity for the House to take up S. 2559 during this Congress.
  This legislation, designed to alleviate burdensome and unnecessary 
regulations, is straightforward and eminently reasonable. It would 
simply require that agencies differentiate in their regulations between 
animal fats and vegetable oils, which are nontoxic, and other oils, 
including petroleum oils, based on their physical, chemical, biological 
and other properties, and on their environmental effects. The 
differentiation would apply to agency classifications of such oils and 
to regulations governing response plans and other aspects of the 
transportation and handling of oils. The legislation would in no way 
exempt animal fats and vegetable oils from appropriate regulation. It 
would simply require that agencies use commonsense to devise reasonable 
regulations which take into account the particular properties and 
characteristics of animal fats and vegetable oils.
  Because of the clear merit of and need for this legislation, I can 
foresee no good reason why we should not be able to obtain its 
enactment very early in the next Congress.

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