mr. chairman , i thank the distinguished gentlewoman from california for yielding me this time , and i thank her for her leadership on protecting the environment and the health of america 's children . 
i particularly commend her for her resourcefulness in bringing this amendment to the floor . 
because of a letter dated april 19 from the congressional budget office which deems the mtbe giveaway an unfunded mandate , the gentlewoman from california ( mrs. capps ) xz4000620 was able to bring this amendment to the floor . 
i thank the gentlewoman from california . 
it is important to all who care about the health of our children . 
i rise in support of the gentlewoman from california 's amendment to strike , really , this disgraceful mtbe giveaway , and i commend her for seizing the opportunity to offer this amendment . 
mr. chairman , as we discussed yesterday in general debate , a few drops of mtbe can poison an entire drinking water system . 
but the industry lobbied for mtbe to be added to gasoline , anyway . 
the dirty little secret is that the industry knew all along that mtbe could leak out of gasoline storage tanks and contaminate groundwater . 
in fact , there was a deliberate attempt by the mtbe producers to hide the groundwater impacts of their product from congress . 
today , communities across america are suffering the effects of mtbe . 
mtbe contamination of groundwater and surface water is a major problem in my state of california , and many drinking water wells have had to be shut down because of this contaminant . 
mtbe contamination has been detected in all 50 states , and a recent study indicates that it costs between $ 12 billion and $ 63 billion to clean it up . 
it will cost between $ 12 billion and $ 63 billion to clean it up , to clean up something that the industry knew was dirty to begin with and withheld information about that from congress . 
not surprisingly , the mtbe producers and the big oil companies want to be protected from liability for contaminating our drinking water supplies . 
and not surprisingly , tom delay and house republicans are happy to oblige . 
the gentleman from texas insisted on the mtbe provision in the last congress , even at the cost of killing the energy bill . 
he insisted on it again this year . 
in fact , this is the majority leader 's bill we are debating today . 
instead of eliminating mtbe now , the republican energy bill gives 9 years for a phaseout , 9 years of mtbe leaking into our water supply . 
and a loophole in this very law may even allow mtbe to be used indefinitely . 
it gives mtbe producers liability protection in contamination lawsuits , and it gives a $ 2 billion subsidy to mtbe manufacturers . 
let me repeat : this is a contaminant , a small supply of which can poison a water supply . 
and this bill is giving the manufacturers 9 years to phase it out and a loophole that may even make the use of mtbe indefinite . 
it is saying that you have no liability , mtbe manufacturers , for contamination , no liability , long term to phase out , if ever ; and third of all , we are going to fund it . 
for $ 2 billion , we are going to give a subsidy to mtbe manufacturers . 
according to the republican congress , the punishment for polluting the groundwater , if you pollute our groundwater , you get $ 2 billion . 
that is your gift for contaminating our groundwater . 
republicans are not even giving mtbe polluters a slap on the wrist . 
they are giving them a pat on the back . 
but in their attempt to shield mtbe producers and big oil companies from accountability , republicans have created a huge unfunded mandate for states and localities , and it is taxpayers who are stuck with the bill . 
remember unfunded mandates ? 
was that not principle number one of the contract with america , no unfunded mandates ? 
here it is . 
the cbo , the congressional budget office , nonpartisan cbo , says that this amounts to an unfunded mandate . 
that is why the gentlewoman from california ( mrs. capps ) xz4000620 was able to get this amendment made in order under the rules . 
and then in their attempts to shield mtbe producers and big oil companies from accountability , republicans have created this unfunded mandate , which is called such by the national water resources association , the american public works association , western coalition of arid states , american water works association , the association of metropolitan water agencies , the national association of towns and townships , the national association of counties , the national league of cities , the u.s. conference of mayors . 
these organizations say that this provision agrees with the congressional budget office that it amounts to a massive unfunded mandate on local governments and citizens . 
republicans used to oppose these , as i mentioned ; and the rules of the house still allow us to strike them . 
i thank the gentlewoman from california ( mrs. capps ) xz4000620 . 
i urge my colleagues to support the capps amendment and to demand accountability and to stop the outrageous mtbe giveaway . 
