Frank Lautenberg: “I rise to talk now about an amendment I intend to offer with Senators Boxer, Corzine, Reed of Rhode Island, Sarbanes…”

“I rise to talk now about an amendment I intend to offer with Senators Boxer, Corzine, Reed of Rhode Island, Sarbanes, and Murray as cosponsors. This amendment would add funding that is critical to the Superfund program. My colleague and friend, Senator Corzine, just talked about his intention to offer an amendment that is going to help us maintain a quality of environment that he and I feel is necessary for America. I appreciate one part of that because this budget falls short of protecting Americans from deadly toxins in their communities. Too many communities in this country live near toxins left behind by polluting industries. Each day we delay cleanups is another day we expose families to poisonous chemicals. The numbers are alarming: 70 million people in this country live within 4 miles of a Superfund site and 10 million of the people exposed to the chemicals at those sites are children, the most defenseless among us. Ten million children who must eat their meals, brush their teeth and sleep within a few miles of harmful poisons that will persist in their soil and ground water for decades and longer.”