Ed Markey: “This provision has to be stricken from the Republican proposal, has to be cut out. That is what this amendment does. It…”

“This provision has to be stricken from the Republican proposal, has to be cut out. That is what this amendment does. It just ensures that not only under the bill which the Republicans introduced last year, H.R. 2500, but under any bill which is ever introduced, we do not give money back to polluters who have already accepted court-ordered consent decree responsibility as to their responsibility to clean up the site. It makes no sense whatsoever. So this is a very simple proposal. It gets right at the heart of what it is that the Republicans want to propose as a reform of environmental laws, giving money to polluters. We have operated for the last 15 years under the notion of the polluter pays, if they are responsible. The Republican proposal transforms it into the taxpayer pays the polluter. We are so sorry, it is going to cost you money for having to clean up the mess you created in the community, this neighborhood nightmare, which has taken all the property in the neighborhood off of the tax rolls, which could have led to the deaths or the creation of disease in families within the community. That is their new notion. We take care of the polluters. So the Markey-Pallone-Borski amendment deletes this ability to be able to hand this money over to the polluters. It is a very clean, simple vote.”