EXTENSIONS of REMARKS June 30, 1987 EXTENSIONS of REMARKS
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18370 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS June 30, 1987 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS OZONE PROTECTION AND CFC raise $300 million in the first year. In 1989 the sives were banned from consumer use, and REDUCTION ACT bill is expected to bring $500 million into the the CPSC began regulating the amount of ex Treasury. The next year the amount rises to plosive chemicals that can go into the still $700 million. available class C explosives, such as the HON. FORTNEY H. (PETE) STA.: ..< The solution is easy: Stop venting CFC's in sparklers, the snakes, and the wheels current to the air. My legislation provides economic in OF CALIFORNIA ly on the market at roadside stands across centives to implement the solution. It will pro IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the country. vide us with alternatives for the many uses of But since that standard was set in 1976, the Tuesday, June 30, 1987 CFC's. The longer we wait, the more destruc number of injuries has been increasing stead Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, a chief culprit in tion occurs to the ozone. It is time for us to ily. When the standard was set by the CPSC, the loss of the protective ozone layer of the stop destroying the protective cocoon that it was hoped that injuries would decrease. Earth is a group of chemicals known as chlor surrounds our planet. However, only the opposite has occurred. ofluorocarbons or CFC's. I am introducing leg Some States have gone the full route, ban islation today to put an excise tax on CFC's. TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO ning the use of all fireworks except with the The more destructive to the ozone the CFC is, TODAY AT THE CONSTITU proper permits for an organized public display. the higher the tax on a specific CFC. TIONAL CONVENTION (JUNE 27) But other, neighboring States have less strin Ozone is the shield in the stratosphere gent standards. With that disparity among the which prevents harmful ultraviolet radiation HON. PHILIP R. SHARP States, the situation arises where an individual from penetrating to the Earth. Recently, scien from one State can cross the State boundary, OF INDIANA tists discovered an actual hole in the ozone pick up fireworks in the neighboring State, and layer. The re«luction of the ozone layer will in IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES return to his home with prohibited explosives. crease the skin cancer rate, cause crop Tuesday, June 30, 1987 Despite a Federal statute prohibiting the damage, and generally disrupt other natural Mr. SHARP. Mr. Speaker, June 27, 1787, interstate transportation of fireworks from one biological systems. The threats to humans dawned hot and humid in Philadelphia; a heat State into another where they are banned, ille and plants resulting from ozone loss is be wave had continued almost without relief for gal fireworks do get through the interstate coming clearer every day. the previous 2 weeks. With the windows cracks. My legislation will impose an excise tax on closed to prevent eavesdropping, the dele Studies have shown that two-thirds of all in both domestic production and imports. The gates assembled to begin another sweltering juries from fireworks are due to the misuse of intent of the legislation is to slowly raise the day of deliberations. the devices. Fully one-third of the total injuries price of the chemicals, with the end result Again, the delegates voted to consider how are due to the use of illegal fireworks. being a halt in production of CFC's. By raising should seats in the legislature be allocated? To help ensure that illegal fireworks do not the cost of CFC's, alternative chemicals Discussion had scarcely begun when Mary cross State boundaries, to protect children whose impact on the ozone is minimal, can land delegate Luther Martin launched into an and adults alike from these explosives and the compete with the currently inexpensive CFC's. emotional 3-hour speech defending State sov life-threatening injuries that they cause year International negotiations are proceeding to ereignty, and attacking the work of the Con after year, I am introducing a bill requiring the limit worldwide production and use of CFC's. I vention to date. While the always tactful CPSC to treat fireworks more uniformly support these negotiations. However, this James Madison avoided any direct criticism, throughout the States and to ensure that our should not prevent the United States from Connecticut's Oliver Ellsworth was not so dip citizens will receive the maximum protection taking unilaterial action. We have been a lomatic. He later wrote that Martin's speech from these devices. world leader in the past in limiting CFC use. "might have continued 2 months, but for With this more uniform treatment, fireworks We did not wait for the rest of the world to those marks of fatigue and disgust you saw that should not be on the market can, in fact, ban the use of CFC's in aerosols. As the strongly expressed on whichever side of the be kept off the market and out of the hands of problem becomes increasingly serious, the house you turned your mortified eyes." children. United States should continue its leadership As a reminder of this annual tragedy and of role. the need to remedy the situation, I am includ Until Interior Secretary Hodel looked into FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS ing a story appearing in the Washington Post. the situation, the administration was treating the problem in a serious fashion. Secretary BANGS, BUCKS, BUSTS-POLICE CRACK DOWN HON. JAMES J. FLORIO ON ILLEGAL FIREWORKS Hodel, with the blindness of dark sunglasses OF NEW JERSEY <By Christopher Georges) In a cave, suggested people could wear hats IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES aftd sunscreen as a solution to the problem. Just moments after two men drove into While everyone has denounced Secretary Tuesday, June 30, 1987 Charles County from Virginia on Rte. 301, Medel's remarks, the administration focus re Mr. FLORIO. Mr. Speaker, on the Fourth of they were pulled over by Maryland state main& in international negotiations, not action July, our Nation will celebrate a day of free police and fire marshals. The officials, re sponding to a radio message from undercov at home. dom and day of hope. And as we celebrate er Maryland police at a fireworks stand in CFC's currently in use can often be recy the birth of our Nation, we give thought also Virginia, searched the car and confiscated cled. Because they are cheap, this rarely to the way in which we celebrate. several hundred dollars worth of fireworks. «XlCUrs. My legislation encourages recycling. Last year, 12,600 children and adults were The fireworks were legal in Virginia, but With recycling the ozone layer is protected yet injured by fireworks. The year before, 10,300 illegal in Maryland. The two men, tagged CFC's can still be used. This is especially im received injuries while using fireworks. This with a $250 fine, fell victim to "border pa portant for those instances where there is not year, as we celebrate once again, many more trols," the Maryland state police effort to an adequate substitute for CFC's or the transi individuals will be harmed by fireworks. Many crack down on the possession of illegal fire works through a series of searches, fines, tion to an alternative chemical is lengthy. of those injuries will be serious, requiring hos confiscations and even increased vigilance With this legislation we can fight for the en pitalization, surgery, or even amputation. over mail deliveries into the region. wonment and put money in the U.S. Treasury The Consumer Product Safety Commission "At the time, we had 15 vehicles stopped at the same time. The Joint Committee on has set standards to reduce some of those in in the same area, and were confiscating fire Taxation has estimated that the legislation will juries. The extremely powerful class B explo- works from all of them," said Bob Thomas e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. June 30, 1987 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 18371 of the Maryland Fire Marshal's Office. He "hundreds of dollars" worth is likely to face ducing legislation which seeks to reform the added that another one-day, large-scale con a fine and even possible imprisonment of up Federal onshore oil and gas leasing system. fiscation operation-similar to the one held to six months. This legislation is the product of four hear in Charles County last year-may take place Thomas added that in the period leading in the upcoming week. up to the Fourth of July about 35 fire mar ings conducted by the Subcommittee on As the Fourth of July approaches, Mary shals from across the state will be assigned Mining and Natural Resources during the 99th land, Virginia and District police, fire and to search for illegal fireworks. Congress on the Federal Onshore Oil and health officials are stepping up efforts to Police officials say they are primarily on Gas Leasing Program and several months of slow the increasing tide of illegal fireworks the lookout for the most common injury negotiations with interested parties. While the into the region as well as to warn the public causers: M-80s, M-lOOs, cherry bombs and bill is not perfect, I view it as a suitable start of the potential hazards of using fireworks, silver salutes, all of which contain more legal or illegal.