Political Quotes

“I rise to make remarks on the introduction of the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act. I would like to thank Senators Sherrod Brown and Lisa Murkowski for joining me in this bipartisan effort, as well as the House sponsors, Representatives Gene Green, Mike Thompson, Steven LaTourette, and Lee Terry. Significant amounts of U.S. electronic waste are currently exported to developing countries that handle the waste in an unsafe manner. Much of this waste contains toxic materials, such as lead and mercury, and the workers who disassemble and process the electronics use crude, unsafe methods that can lead to health problems. This legislation would put an end to these dangerous practices. The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act would restrict the export of electronic waste, help boost the U.S. recycling industry, and support efforts to domestically recover rare earth materials found in electronics. The United States is the only developed country that has not ratified the Basel Convention, which prohibits exports of hazardous waste to developing countries. Under the convention, much of the U.S. exportation of electronic waste to developing countries is illegal under the laws of the receiving countries but unfortunately, these laws are poorly enforced. If we recycled these materials in the U.S., it would create recycling jobs for U.S. workers. Companies recycling in the U.S.…”