[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1201-E1202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 23, 1998

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, a town meeting in my district that was 
scheduled at a time when the House was not expected to be in session 
prevented me from being here for yesterday's vote on H.R. 4060, the FY 
1999 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill. I strongly 
support H.R. 4060. Had I been present, I would have voted YES.

[[Page E1202]]

  This bill contains $275,347,000 for the Fernald Environmental 
Management Project (FEMP), which is based in my Congressional District 
near Cincinnati, Ohio. The former Fernald Feed Materials Production 
Center, now the FEMP, was a Department of Energy facility that was part 
of the United States' nuclear weapons production complex for nearly 
forty years from 1951 to 1988. The site is heavily contaminated with 
nuclear waste and other hazardous materials, and has been the focus of 
extensive cleanup efforts for several years.
  H.R. 4060 fully funds the President's request for the Fernald cleanup 
under the Defense Facilities Closure Account. The Closure Account is 
designed to ensure the accelerated cleanup of this site under budget 
and ahead of the original schedule. Accelerated cleanup will not only 
result in a considerable savings to the taxpayers but also help to 
protect public health. I would like to point to a disturbing study 
recently released by the Center for Disease Control that estimates a 1 
to 12 percent increase in lung cancer deaths to residents in the 
Fernald study area as a result of exposure to radon gas emitted from 
the site's K-65 Silos. The CDC's findings serve to emphasize the need 
to fully fund the Closure Account, which would ensure that the 
accelerated cleanup proceeds on schedule to safeguard the residents in 
the community from future radioactive exposure.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe this funding for the FEMP strongly serves the 
public interest. I commend Chairman Livingston, Ranking Member Obey, 
Chairman McDade, and Ranking Member Fazio as well as their colleagues 
on the Appropriations Committee and the Energy and Water Development 
Subcommittee for including these vital funds in the bill. I also want 
to thank the House for overwhelmingly approving H.R. 4060 by a vote of 
405-4.

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