[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 166 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14924-S14925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to a period of morning business until 1:30 p.m. with Senators 
permitted to speak therein.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, like every loyal Red Sox fan, I believe 
that next season my team will be victorious. I bring this same level of 
optimism to my efforts to reduce the amount of wasted resources and 
litter caused by discarded beverage containers.
  I rise today to speak again to the National Beverage Producer 
Responsibility Act of 2003, the bottle bill, convinced that this is our 
year.
  I have long been an advocate for increased recycling. Vermont passed 
its bottle bill in 1972 when I was state attorney general. In 1975, 
during my first session as a Representative in the U.S. House, I 
introduced a national bottle bill, closely resembling Vermont's very 
successful example. Last Congress, as chairman of the Environment and 
Public Works Committee, I convened the first Congressional hearing in 
many years on recycling, in which the committee heard expert testimony 
on the merits of a national program to recycle beverage containers.
  The reason that I continue to push this issue is simple--it makes 
sense. Beverage container recycling is one of the simplest ways to see 
a dramatic improvement in our environment. As this chart shows, 120 
billion--let me repeat, 120 billion with a ``b''--beverage containers 
were wasted by not being recycled in 2001.
  If we could raise the Nation's recycling rate to 80 percent, we would 
save the equivalent of 300 million barrels of oil over the next 10 
years and eliminate 4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions 
annually. States that have enacted bottle bills also have benefited by 
reducing road side litter by up to 84 percent.
  These savings may sound unrealistic. But in Vermont alone, recycling 
efforts in 2001 reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 94,000 metric tons 
of carbon equivalent. That's equal to approximately two-thirds of all 
industrial carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion in 
Vermont and 4.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. To me, those 
savings sound remarkable.

  Why a refundable deposit program? Thirty years of experience 
demonstrates that refundable deposit bottle bills are dramatically more 
effective than voluntary efforts. As this chart illustrates, the ten 
States that have implemented deposit laws recycle more containers than 
all of the other 40 States combined.
  While I applaud curbside and other voluntary recycling efforts, the 
71 percent of Americans who live in non-bottle bill States account for 
only 28 percent of recycled beverage containers. My bill, the National 
Beverage Producer Responsibility Act of 2003, strikes a balance between 
the wishes of industry, the authority of individual States, and the 
needs of a healthy environment.
  Unlike traditional bottle bills, this legislation would fully harness 
market incentives by setting an 80 percent recovery performance 
standard and allowing industry the freedom to design the most efficient 
deposit-return program to reach the standard. States that already have 
bottle bills will retain their authority to continue their programs in 
their own individual ways as long as they meet the national performance 
standard.
  This past Saturday, November 15, 2003, was America Recycles Day in 
Vermont and across the country. Two years ago, to help commemorate the 
2001 America Recycles Day, I participated in a public service 
announcement to raise awareness regarding the need to buy recycled 
goods.
  The importance of recycling deserves, however, more than a 30-second 
public service announcement and more than its own day on the calendar. 
For it to work, recycling must be a commitment of all of ours each and 
every day of the year.
  Vermont's commitment to recycling has provided some impressive 
statistics. For example, in 2001, 31 percent of Vermont's municipal 
waste was diverted from landfills. That year, 13,260 tons of containers 
were recycled through soft drink and beer distributors and materials 
recovery facilities.

  The benefit of these programs is, of course, that they help keep our 
Green Mountains green.
  I commend and thank Governor Jim Douglas for his many recent 
initiatives to encourage and improve the efficiency of recycling across 
Vermont. For example, under Governor Douglas' leadership, Vermont has 
implemented beverage container recycling programs at 20 State 
information centers.

[[Page S14925]]

  In the first phase, in less than 2 months, over 200 pounds of 
aluminum, glass, and plastic were recovered from 51,00 visitors passing 
through one such information center in Willison, VT. And today, the 
U.S. Senate's other Vermonter, Patrick Leahy, joins me and Senators 
Joseph Lieberman, Daniel Akaka, and John Kerry as original cosponsors 
as I introduce the National Beverage Producer Responsibility Act of 
2003.
  I recommend that all take advantage of this wonderful system we have 
in Vermont and in other States. I ask everyone to take a close look and 
see if we wouldn't be much better off if the rest of the country 
follows suit.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business 
for up to 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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