[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14769]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                LETTING MTBE MANUFACTURERS OFF THE HOOK

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, 2 months ago, the House narrowly voted down 
my amendment to the energy bill to hold MTBE manufacturers accountable 
for the groundwater contamination their product has produced. Many 
Members voted ``no'' because of some impending deal to address the 
issue once and for all. Now reports of the deal have leaked out. They 
are not pretty, and they will not address the MTBE contamination our 
constituents face.
  This deal would provide full liability protection to the MTBE 
producers and establish an $8 billion trust fund to address the 
contamination crisis. One big problem: the cleanup of MTBE 
contamination will cost between $25 billion and $33 billion. It could 
be as high as $85 billion, dwarfing the deal's cleanup fund.
  Another problem: at least half of this fund comes from taxpayers. Mr. 
Speaker, why should taxpayers pay to clean up MTBE contamination? 
Manufacturers caused this problem, and they should clean it up. It is a 
deal written by industry for the industry.
  No surprise that water districts, cities, and counties across the 
country do not support this deal. They are the people who have to deal 
with the contamination. I urge my colleagues to oppose the liability 
waiver of MTBE and any deal like this.

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