Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Commander of the Central Pacific Force, called the record of the Phaon and Service Squadron Ten achievements of which all Americans can be justly proud.

Had it failed, the war would have lasted much longer at much greater cost in blood and dollars.

The Phaon was an important part of mobile Service Squadron Ten, whose battle role was to remain within the battle area and conduct repairs.

By the war's end, the Phaon had repaired at least 96 ships and more than 2,000 vessels and crafts of all types.

This is corporate welfare that subsidizes both foreign and domestic mining companies and should be stopped.

The only mining law reform bill Congress has sent to the President in recent years was part of the fiscal year 1995 budget reconciliation bill that President Clinton properly vetoed in December 1995.

Mining reform is long overdue.

Leaving a huge, leaking tailings pile adjacent to the Colorado River does not make sense.

ten and a half million tons of toxic wastes generated by the now-defunct Atlas Mine are stored in a tailings pond located immediately adjacent to the Colorado River near Moab, Utah.

Now is the time to act.

Moving the tailings will remove the source of the contamination.

Mr. Speaker, ten and a half million tons of toxic wastes generated by the now-defunct Atlas Mine are stored in a tailings pond located immediately adjacent to the Colorado River near Moab, Utah.

Sadly, the NRC has seems determined to perpetuate rather than resolve this dangerous situation in the case of the Atlas site.

Today, I am introducing three bills, in addition to Rep. Nick Rahall's (D-WVA) comprehensive bill to reform the Mining Law of 1872.

Over the past century, irresponsible and unwise mining operators have devastated over half a million acres of land--by acting without thought for the future or by simply walking away from played-out mines.

The effort to update the 1872 law has enjoyed vigorous, bipartisan support in the House of Representatives for many years.

The 106th Congress should impose a reasonable net smelter royalty on hard rock minerals extracted from public lands, dedicating the revenues to cleaning up abandoned mine sites, permanently extend the $100 rental fee, and close the depletion allowance loophole.

These tailings are radioactive and contain high concentrations of ammonia, arsenic, lead, vanadium, selenium, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, and other toxic metals left by the leaching process used to separate uranium from ore.