[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 7, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SUPERFUND PROGRAM

  (Mr. GUTKNECHT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow afternoon, Congressman David 
McIntosh, chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, will be 
having a public hearing on the Superfund Program.
  The purpose of this hearing is to stress the urgent need to put 
politics aside and reform the Superfund Program for the sake of public 
health and the environment. Since 1980, only 291 of the 1,289 sites 
have been cleaned up.
  President Clinton, State and local governments, businesses large and 
small, environmental groups, and local communities alike agree that the 
current program is not doing its job to clean up hazardous waste sites 
quickly and effectively. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office [CBO] 
estimates that the average time for cleanup per site is between 12 and 
15 years, at a cost of over $31 million.
  Moreover, as each day passes without fundamental reform, cleanups 
continue to be impeded by significant bureaucratic delays and endless 
legal battles. Legislation is needed to address these concerns.
  This must stop. Mr. Speaker, Americans expect these sites to be 
cleaned up without further delay and unneeded expense.

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