[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E68]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SUPERFUND REINVESTMENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 14, 2014

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, last week, the House passed legislation 
to weaken and fragment the already underfunded federal Superfund 
program. This was a step in the wrong direction. Today, joined by 15 
original cosponsors, I am reintroducing legislation to reauthorize 
Superfund taxes on polluting industries; provide more funds to clean up 
toxic waste sites; and relieve much of the funding burden currently 
shouldered by taxpayers through general revenue funds.
  Across the country there are 1,321 severely polluted superfund sites, 
some federal and some private. These sites threaten humans with 
exposure to toxics such as arsenic, benzene, PCBs, mercury and a wide 
range of solvents, resulting in health problems such as infertility, 
low birth weight, birth defects, leukemia and respiratory difficulties.
  Passed by Congress in 1980, the Superfund program has resulted in the 
cleanup of more than 1,000 toxic waste sites in communities all over 
the U.S., freeing residents from health risks and fears that come from 
living close to toxic waste. In the majority of cases, EPA works with 
the parties who have been found responsible for the pollution and they 
pay for the cleanup. However, at some sites, those responsible for the 
pollution cannot be found or do not have the ability to pay, and the 
government pays for the cleanup. Historically, the Superfund trust fund 
was used for this process, which was supported by taxes on petroleum 
products and chemicals. Because Congress has not reauthorized these 
Superfund taxes since 1995, the trust fund was depleted and the funding 
source for the cleanup of orphan sites has shifted primarily to general 
funds.
  The Superfund Reinvestment Act will reinstate Superfund taxes to 
their previous levels, including excise taxes of $.097 per barrel on 
crude oil or refined oil products, excise taxes of $.22 to $4.87 per 
ton on certain chemicals, and a corporate environmental income tax of 
.12 percent on a corporation's modified alternative minimum taxable 
income that exceeds $2 million. This legislation also includes language 
to guarantee that money from the Trust Fund is only spent on Superfund 
cleanups.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in working to strengthen the 
Superfund program by ensuring that polluters continue to pay. This will 
go a long way towards cleaning up America's most toxic waste sites, and 
helping to keep our communities and our families safe, healthy, and 
economically secure.

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