[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19781-19782]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  MAKING TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO TITLE X OF ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 1992

  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2641) to make technical corrections to title X of the Energy 
Policy Act of 1992, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2641

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DATE EXTENSIONS.

       Section 1001 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 
     2296a) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)(i), by striking ``2002'' and 
     inserting ``2007'';
       (2) in subsection (b)(1)(B)(ii), by striking ``placed in 
     escrow not later than December 31, 2002,'' and inserting 
     ``incurred by a licensee after December 31, 2007,''; and
       (3) in subsection (b)(2)(E)(i) by striking ``July 31, 
     2005'' and inserting ``December 31, 2008''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on this legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Wyoming?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2641 will make date extensions to title X of the 
Energy Policy Act of 1992, which specifies how and when the Federal 
Government reimburses the private sector licensees for the Federal 
Government's share of the cost of cleaning up uranium and thorium 
milling sites. We have learned that it costs a lot more and takes a lot 
longer to clean up these mill sites than we originally anticipated back 
in 1992, due in large part to the difficulties of dealing with 
groundwater contamination.
  Therefore, H.R. 2641 makes some adjustments to the time line of the 
current reimbursement scheme to recognize these realities and to make 
sure that the government continues to pay its fair share of the cleanup 
costs.
  The current scheme of reimbursement on an annual basis is due to end 
in 2002, with DOE required to place into escrow sufficient funds to 
cover the estimated post-2002 costs. Both industry and the Department 
of Energy want to continue the current arrangement of reimbursement of 
actual costs on an annual basis for several more years until all or 
almost all of this cleanup work is completed.
  This bill was changed significantly as it moved through the committee 
process. I commend the Members and staff on both sides of the aisle, 
particularly the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Largent), for working to 
improve this bill. What is before the House today was reported out of 
the Committee on Commerce with unanimous bipartisan support.

[[Page 19782]]

  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2641 represents an effective compromise measure 
that has the full support of the Department of Energy and the industry. 
I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to vote for this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2641, which makes constructive 
and noncontroversial changes to title X of the Energy Policy Act of 
1992.
  I want to thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin), the 
gentleman from Texas (Chairman Barton) of our Subcommittee on Energy 
and Power, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Largent), and their 
respective staffs for working with us at the subcommittee level and at 
the level of the full House Committee on Commerce to address a range of 
concerns that the minority originally had concerning these provisions.
  As the gentlewoman from Wyoming indicated, the bill reported by the 
Committee on Commerce makes a number of useful administrative changes 
to the uranium and thorium mill tailings cleanup program. First, it 
extends for 5 additional years the period during which licensees may 
apply to the Department of Energy for reimbursement of their share of 
the costs of approved cleanup projects.
  Secondly, the bill eliminates the requirement that certain funds be 
placed in escrow which will benefit all licensees by providing more 
flexibility to provide reimbursements for completed projects.
  And third, the bill extends the date by which the Secretary of Energy 
must determine that there are excess funds for cleaning up the gaseous 
diffusion plants. These changes reflect the reality that while the 
title X cleanup program has been largely successful, the work has taken 
longer than expected. I would stress, however, that the bill does not 
alter the formula for Federal reimbursement or in any way increase the 
program's previously authorized spending ceiling.
  The bill reported by the Committee on Commerce is supported by both 
the administration and industry. It has bipartisan support, and I am 
pleased to join with the gentlewoman in urging the approval by the 
House of this measure. I want to thank her, the gentleman from Texas 
(Chairman Barton) of our Subcommittee on Energy and Power, and the 
leadership of the full Committee on Commerce for their cooperation in 
addressing the concerns we originally had.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Largent).
  Mr. LARGENT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. 
Cubin) for yielding me just a moment of time to talk about H.R. 2641.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2641 to make technical 
corrections to title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. This 
legislation is a clean reauthorization that extends the program of 
annual reimbursements for 5 more years to clean up uranium and thorium 
mill tailings sites by extending these reimbursements for 5 more years. 
It eliminates the requirement for DOE to place into escrow sufficient 
funds to cover estimated post-2002 cleanup costs, and it changes the 
date when the Secretary must determine whether any excess funds remain 
from 2005 until 2008.
  H.R. 2641 is a bipartisan bill reported out unanimously by the 
Committee on Commerce. The bill is supported by the Department of 
Energy, by industry, and by the PACE union which represents workers at 
the gaseous diffusion plants.

                              {time}  1330

  H.R. 2641 will keep the industry licensees focused on completing 
their cleanup work and will keep DOE focused on reimbursing its fair 
share of the cleanup costs.
  Finally, I want to thank Kevin Cook from the Committee on Commerce 
for all of his fine work; Sue Sheridan from the staff of the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) for her efforts and cooperation and from 
the staff of the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin), Bryan Jacobs 
for all of his work and time on this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, finally, I would just add that this bill is 
environmentally sound and responsible and economically sound, fiscally 
sound and responsible as well.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, once again I want to thank the staffs on both sides of 
the aisle. I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher), 
his cooperation and good temperament is always a joy to work with and I 
thank him very much.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Walden of Oregon). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2641, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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