Washington, D.C.- U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Jim Jeffords (I-VT) today called on the Bush Administration to provide necessary funding for the Superfund program. In a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt, the Senators expressed serious concern over EPA’s failure to adequately fund the Superfund program, citing a decrease in Superfund cleanups completed per year from an average of 87 cleanups during the last four years of the Clinton administration to 40 per year under the Bush administration. The Senators also urged the EPA to reinstate the polluter pays fees and protect the 70 million Americans, including 10 million children, who live within 4 miles of a Superfund site. “To halt the slowdown, protect public health and safety, and ensure economically viable communities, we must provide sufficient funds for expeditious clean up of Superfund sites,” the Senators wrote in their letter. “We urge the EPA to fully fund the cleanup of all Superfund sites and to take the one necessary step to ensure full funding: reinstating the polluter pays fees.” The Senators’ letter to EPA Administrator Leavitt is attached. Also attached is the EPA’s October 13th letter to Senator Jeffords.