[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9547-S9548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PROGRESS TOWARD A MORE EFFECTIVE RCRA

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge and commend the 
Members and staff of the Environment and Public Works Committee for 
their tireless work towards producing a targeted RCRA reform bill this 
Congress.
  Mr. President, what the Committee has undertaken is no easy task. 
Although the bill we are crafting only deals with a narrow part of the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the drafting process has been a 
difficult and long road. RCRA is the most complex and technical 
environmental statute in existence, and to fix a piece of it,

[[Page S9548]]

one must understand the whole. The Committee has spend many months 
educating themselves--and this determined effort is paying off.
  The majority and minority committee staff have been exchanging 
language and ideas in intense negotiations over the last several weeks. 
They are not debating principles, Mr. President, they are getting down 
to brass tacks. They are refining the language so that it reflects a 
consensus position on the issues. After all, we all agree--the 
Administration, the EPA, Republicans, Democrats and stakeholders--that 
RCRA needs to be fixed. The challenge now is putting the agreed-upon 
remediation waste reforms into legislative language.
  Mr. President, Congressional Republicans and Democrats are working 
with the Administration and the agencies as a team. Our team is closer 
than ever to producing a bill that is fiscally and environmentally 
responsible. Our team is on the brink on introducing a bill that will 
be embraced by Congress and the Administration. Our team is within 
striking distance of a win for everyone.
  The biggest winners, Mr. President, will be those affected by our 
bill. Industry, the states and the environmental community support our 
efforts towards reform because they know our goal is to speed up site 
cleanup and reduce agency bureaucracy.
  When setting out to craft a targeted RCRA remediation waste bill in 
1996, this same team focused on three primary goals. Today, my goals 
and that of the team are still the same.
  First, I want to make RCRA work. I want it to work faster. I want it 
to work more cheaply. A RCRA reform bill is worthless if it does not 
clear these basic hurdles.
  Second, I want to remove regulations that are counterproductive to 
cleanup and streamline decision-making. This will give EPA the 
flexibility it needs to get the job done. Current law keeps the EPA 
from removing some of the largest obstacles to clean-up, and the only 
way to fix the problem is by fixing current law.
  Third, I want to give the states more authority over the management 
of these cleanup programs. States not only have the ability to do the 
job right, they have the resources and talent. These officials know how 
best to deal with the communities and counties impacted by the site and 
its cleanup.
  Mr. President, I believe we are on the way to a final product that 
keeps faith with these goals.
  I must take a moment now to commend the good work being done by the 
House Commerce Committee. Certainly the Senate could not have come so 
far so fast were it not for the efforts in the House. Our colleagues on 
the other side of the Capital have done a remarkable job, through 
stakeholder meetings and dialogs, to educate us all as to the potential 
implications of our actions. I know Senators Chafee, Smith, Baucas, and 
Lautenberg join me in commending the efforts of Chairmen Bliley and 
Oxley and their staff on this issue.
  Mr. President, environmental cleanup programs only work if sites are 
truly being cleaned up. With over 5,000 RCRA sites nationwide, our work 
is cut out for us. I look forward to returning to the Senate floor in 
September to join my Senate colleagues in introducing our RCRA 
remediation waste reform legislation--a first step towards an effective 
and responsible RCRA program. Thank you.

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