[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S9565]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG:
  S. 2027. A bill to provide for a 5-year extension of Hazardous 
Substance Superfund, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Finance.


               the superfund taxes extension act of 1996

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
to extend the Superfund taxes, which have been in place since 1980.
  Mr. President, the Superfund program provides for cleaning-up those 
toxic waste sites that pose the most serious threats to our environment 
and to our health. The program is largely funded by a chemical and oil 
feedstock tax and by taxes on corporate environmental entities, such as 
petrochemical companies.
  Mr. President, few of us may be aware of the fact that these taxes 
expired in December of 1995. Since that time, not one single penny has 
been assessed to replenish the Superfund, and so protect our ability to 
cleanup toxic sites in the future.
  The failure to extend the Superfund tax is causing us to lose $4 
million dollars a day. That is $4 million a day which could be used to 
expedite the cleanup at existing Superfund sites, or fund the 
revitalization of additional sites.
  It has been argued that we have sufficient monies in the Superfund 
trust fund to carry us for the next few years, although there is 
disagreement concerning how long the money will last. However, 
Superfund monies are used for long-term construction projects. By 
utilizing these funds for other purposes, we squander our ability to do 
long range planning and to continue cleanups without interruption.
  Mr. President, as someone who spent most of my life as a businessman, 
I recognize the importance of long term planning. And I understand the 
real costs associated with stopping and restarting a project; it is 
never efficient or cost effective.
  Mr. President, I and the citizens of New Jersey, lived through the 
funding crisis of 1984-1985. The subsequent disruption of cleanups 
caused unnecessary hardships for the citizens of my state. I don't want 
to go through that again.
  We need to ensure that we have sufficient financial resources to plan 
for, contract and continue Superfund cleanups without interruption. 
After all, we owe it to our children to do whatever is possible to 
preserve the environment, to protect the public health and to provide 
for the future.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2027

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. 5-YEAR EXTENSION OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE SUPERFUND.

       (a) Extension of Taxes.--
       (1) The following provisions of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 are each amended by striking ``January 1, 1996'' each 
     place it appears and inserting ``January 1, 2001'':
       (A) Section 59A(e)(1) (relating to application of 
     environmental tax).
       (B) Paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 4611(e) (relating to 
     application of Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate).
       (2) Paragraph (2) of section 4611(e) of such Code is 
     amended--
       (A) by striking ``1993'' and inserting ``1998'',
       (B) by striking ``1994'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``1999'', and
       (C) by striking ``1995'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``2000''.
       (b) Increase in Aggregate Tax Which May Be Collected.--
     Paragraph (3) of section 4611(e) of such Code is amended by 
     striking ``$11,970,000,000'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``$22,000,000,000'' and by striking ``December 31, 
     1995'' and inserting ``December 31, 2000''.
       (c) Extension of Repayment Deadline for Superfund 
     Borrowing.--Subparagraph (B) of section 9507(d)(3) of such 
     Code is amended by striking ``December 31, 1995'' and 
     inserting ``December 31, 2000''.
       (d) Extension of Trust Fund Purposes.--Subparagraph (A) of 
     section 9507(c)(1) of such Code is amended--
       (1) by striking clause (i) and inserting the following:
       ``(i) paragraphs (1), (2), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), and 
     (10) of section 111(a) of CERCLA as in effect on the date of 
     the enactment of the Superfund Reform Act of 1995,'', and
       (2) by striking clause (iii) and inserting the following:
       ``(iii) subsections (m), (n), (q), (r), (s), and (t) of 
     section 111 of CERCLA (as so in effect), or''.
       (e) Extension of Authorization of Appropriations to Trust 
     Fund.--Subsection (b) of section 517 of the Superfund Revenue 
     Act of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9507 note) is amended by striking 
     ``and'' at the end of paragraph (8), by striking the period 
     at the end of paragraph (9) and inserting a comma, and by 
     adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
       ``(10) 1996, $250,000,000,
       ``(11) 1997, $250,000,000,
       ``(12) 1998, $250,000,000, and
       ``(13) 1999, $250,000,000,''.
       (f) Coordination With Other Provisions.--Paragraph (2) of 
     section 9507(e) of the Internal Revenue
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