Frank Lautenberg: “there is no additional spending that is provided for by virtue of the Superfund tax. These are not entitlements. We are…”

“there is no additional spending that is provided for by virtue of the Superfund tax. These are not entitlements. We are talking now about direct appropriations. If the funds aren't there obviously out of this fund, out of this reserve fund, if money doesn't come in, it can't be spent. There were programs developed by the Environment and Public Works Committee. I assume the Senator is aware that we have finished a Superfund reauthorization bill out of the committee. I didn't support it. But it is due to come to the floor sometime after our recess. The committee has mandatory spending authority for minimum allocation for ISTEA, the orphans' share funding for Superfund, and funding for landowner incentives under the proposed Endangered Species Act. Under current law the committee has mandatory spending authority for the Wallop-Breaux Sports Fishery Act and other legislation. So this isn't a casual proposal. It is going to be paid for by taxes that accrue to the Superfund reserve fund. It will be used for environmental purposes. That is what we are talking about. It is fairly simple. We offer the amendment, and we are ready to have it processed and hope that our colleagues will vote for it.”