Happy returns

89 Barton bill backers re-elected to House;
Two advance to Senate

Rep. Joe Barton and 89 of the cosponsors of H.R. 1711 were re-elected to the House of Representatives Nov. 2 and two House cosponsors of the bill were elected to the US Senate.

Barton was re-elected by a 73-26 margin to his 6th District Texas seat. Most other cosponsors were re-elected by wide margins and many ran unopposed

Only one cosponsor was defeated in a re-election bid. Kansas Republican Vince Snowbarger (3rd District) lost to a Democrat, Dennis Moore.

Two of the four Kentucky cosponsors gave up their House seats to face each other in that state's election for Senator. In a close race , Republican Jim Bunning received 50 percent of the votes to Democrat Scotty Baesler's 49. Bunning's 4th District seat was won by a Democrat, Kenneth Lucas, while Baesler's 6th District seat went to a Republican, Ernie Fletcher.

Idaho Republican Mike Crapo was the other House supporter who will be moving to the Senate in the next Congress. He easily won a Senate seat that had been vacated by Dirk Kempthorne who successfully ran for governor. Republican Mike Simpson won Crapo's old House seat.

Two cosponsors were not seeking re-election: Jay Kim of California and John Christensen of Nebraska. Both are Republicans and Republicans won both of the seats they vacated. Gary Miller was elected to Kim's 41st District seat in California and Lee Terry took Christensen's 2nd District Nebraska seat.

At the close of the 105th Congress, 95 members of the House of Representatives had signed their names to H.R. 1711, the Small Business Remediation Act, which had been introduced by Barton 18 months earlier.

Barton said he will reintroduce the legislation in the 106th Congress which convenes in January. He also has met with EPA officials to urge the agency to work out a solution to the drycleaning industry's site cleanup problems. Barton said he has given EPA a deadline of next summer to come up with a solution. If that's not met, he said he will proceed with hearings to advance his legislation.

The problem that Barton wants to fix is the level to which drycleaners must clean up soil and groundwater that has been contaminated by drycleaning solvent. Federal standards allow no more than 5 parts per billion (ppb) of perc in drinking water. Since there are no similar standards for soil and non-drinking water, the 5 ppb standard may be applied which required cleaning up far beyond a level that many believe is necessary to ensure that amounts or solvent in the environment pose no hazards.

Barton's plan would create standards for soil and non-drinking water based on the exposure levels that OSHA allows for people who work in drycleaning plants. OSHA's current maximum exposure to workers is 100 parts per million averaged over an eight hour work day. Barton's legislation would set the maximum amount of drycleaning solvent allowed in soil and non-drinking water at one-tenth the amount OSHA allows for worker exposure.

EPA does not support the Barton approach to creating contaminant levels for non-drinking water. Barton said he believes his legislation could pass Congress, but with EPA opposed a veto by a Democratic president is likely.

Keeping the pressure on
Supporters of the Barton legislation want to keep the political pressure on EPA at least until another solution is reached. Between now and the opening of the next Congress, they plan to meet with representatives to shore up support in the House, hoping to be able to quickly recreate the lengthy list of cosponsors when the bill is reintroduce early next year.

The closing days of the 105th Congress saw 14 more House members officially join the ranks of cosponsors. The closing flurry was aided by the Oct. 1 March on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association. Key additions to the cosponsor list included Texas Republican Tom Delay, the House majority whip, and Pennsylvania Democrat Ron Klink, who is his party's ranking member on the House Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Barton.

Other representatives have expressed support for the bill but did not sign on before adjournment in October, according to Baise, Miller and Freer, the Washington firm that has been working on the legislation for the industry.

Work through the break
A memo sent from the firm sent to industry members in late October stated: "The two-month break between election day and the start of the 106th Congress is an opportunity we shouldn't lose. In addition to our ongoing efforts to cultivate support ion the House, we have a fulls schedule of lobbying planned to find support and diffuse any opposition we may find in the Senate.

"Additionally, we will continue our efforts to discuss the perc remediation problem with EPA."

The attorneys invite anyone who has questions or concerns about the legislation to call them at their Washington office, (202) 331-9100.

Anyone needing more information material can contact the firm at (202) 331-9100.

Fundraising efforts will also continue during the break. The Dry Cleaners Action Fund of America (DCAFA), started last year to help pay the cost of keeping the attorneys on the case, needs more contributions from cleaners. Merry Bering, executive director of the Michigan Institute of Laundering and Drycleaning (MILD), reported that $173, 138 had been donated through September. The fund's balance of $22,000 was enough to cover another month or two or expenses.

MILD not only is covering administrative costs for DCAFA, it also has led the way in fund-raising. Earlier this year MILD asked each Michigan cleaner to pledge to the fund; about $50,000 has been given by Michigan cleaners so far.

Other significant contributions to the effort have come from the Martinizing Environmental Group and Comet franchises.

Bering said other contributions have been "sporadic" and that some state and regional associations have donated from their own funds.

"We need states to get busy and raise some money," she said at the Oct. 1 March on Capitol Hill.

         

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Date created: Oct. 31, 1997
Last modified: Nov 5 98
Copyright © 1998 Blind Squirrel
Maintained by: Hal Horning

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