United

the mechanism used by Congress to pay for Superfund cleanup—last reauthorized with bipartisan support in Congress and signed by Ronald Reagan—has expired, and cleanup has slowed to a dangerous pace. In 2014, along with Senator Barbara Boxer, I requested that the Government Accountability Office report on the downward funding trend and its impact on the effectiveness of the Superfund program in eliminating these ongoing threats to American health and safety. Their report found that the decline in funding for the program has predictably affected the pace of cleanup. In fact, it pointed out that from 1999 to 2013, the number of Superfund sites has actually been increasing in the United States. The problem is getting worse.