[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H2475-H2476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   THE STORY OF THE SUMMITVILLE MINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Waldholtz). Under a previous order of 
the House, the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Skaggs] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SKAGGS. Madam Speaker, when the House suspended debate on the 
takings bill, I had gotten about halfway through the story of the 
Summitville Mine in Colorado. Just to recount quickly, Madam Speaker, 
this was a cyanide leaching gold mine that ended up spilling the 
holding ponds of cyanide laced liquids downstream in the Alamosa Creek 
creating a monumental disaster. After Summitville Mine went bankrupt, 
the owners of the land that had leased it to the mining company took 
back over, and even though EPA was on site trying to prevent further 
environmental disaster from occurring, these lands owners, Aztec 
Minerals, Gray Eagle Mining and South Mountain Minerals, have now sued 
the Federal Government claiming that EPA's actions to intercede here 
constitute a taking.
  Madam Speaker, it does not take much more than the story of 
Summitville to illustrate the bureaucratic, fiscal and environmental 
nightmare that we'd be getting if we pass the takings bill and enable 
this sort of idiocy to be duplicated nationwide--as it absolutely would 
be.
  We've heard a great deal from the Republicans about how concerned 
they are about entitlement programs. But this bill would create the 
mother of all entitlements, to benefit the Nation's largest 
corporations whenever they're inconvenienced by environmental or public 
health regulations. Under this bill, the companies that own the 
Summitville Mine would be among hundreds of huge corporations demanding 
a handout from the American taxpayer.
  We've heard a great deal from Republicans about the evils of Big 
Government. So their answer is to create an enormous new bureaucracy--
to carry out the land appraisals that would be mandated every time 
companies complain about compliance with an environmental law--and to 
handle the flood of frivolous lawsuits and to write out the checks to 
the corporations and landowners.
  We've heard a great deal from the Republicans about their desire to 
send power back out to the States and to the people. So they give us 
this bill, and create a big new national program to manage.
  We've heard from the Republicans about the need for a government that 
works better. So their answer is to create a regulatory ``gotcha,'' 
where the EPA will be reluctant to pass or enforce even the tamest of 
regulations, or clean up even the worst disaster, for fear of the 
lawsuits this legislation will encourage.
  And, of course, we've heard about the need to cut spending. But now 
they're 
[[Page H2476]] trying to pass a new law to mandate the spending of 
billions of taxpayer dollars every year--to go mainly to this country's 
biggest corporations and largest landowners. A huge new Federal 
corporate welfare program, in other words.
  Remember, these are the same Republicans who are looking to cut 
billions from housing for the poor, and nutrition programs for our 
kids, and student loan programs, and a hundred other programs that 
benefit the working people of this country.
  I believe that if we pass this bill, we're going to see the absurdity 
of false takings claims like the one at the Summitville mine repeated 
over and over and over.
  If you're concerned about the deficit, if you're concerned about 
entitlements, if you're worried about bureaucracy and red tape, and if 
you're worried about taxpayers, you should be very worried about this 
takings bill.


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