[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 142 (Monday, September 24, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             INTRODUCTION OF THE SUPERFUND REINVESTMENT ACT

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 24, 2007

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, today I am proud to introduce, along 
with my colleague Frank Pallone, the ``Superfund Reinvestment Act,'' 
which would reauthorize the corporate taxes that fund the Superfund 
trust fund. This bill will reestablish the polluter pays principle and 
our commitment to cleaning up the Nation's most hazardous sites.
  The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program was 
created in 1980 to provide money to clean up the Nation's worst 
hazardous waste sites where the party responsible for polluting was out 
of business or could not be identified. Before they expired in 1995, 
the money for the Superfund trust fund came mainly from taxes on the 
polluters themselves. The program has contributed to the cleanup of 
over 1,000 sites around the country. Because Congress has not 
reauthorized the taxes, the burden of funding cleanups of toxic waste 
sites now falls on the shoulders of taxpaying Americans. Reauthorizing 
the Superfund tax would ensure that polluters--not the American 
public--pay to restore public health.
  Superfund sites contain toxic contaminants that have been detected in 
drinking water wells, creeks and rivers, backyards, playgrounds, and 
streets. Communities impacted by these sites can face restrictions on 
water use, gardening and recreational activities as well as economic 
losses as property values decline due to contaminated land. In the 
worst cases, families are at risk of health problems such as cardiac 
impacts, infertility, low birth weight, birth defects, leukemia, and 
respiratory difficulties.
  Until they expired in 1995, the Superfund taxes generated around $1.7 
billion a year to clean up these hazardous areas. The ``Superfund 
Reinvestment Act'' would simply reinstate the taxes as they were before 
they expired. This will provide a stable source of funding to continue 
cleaning up sites around the country as well as give the EPA the tools 
it needs to clean up sites and then recover the costs from liable 
parties who do not undertake the work themselves.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in working to strengthen the 
Superfund program and ensure that it continues to help keep our 
communities and our families safe, healthy, and economically secure.

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