2001 Review
Environmental issues did not receive serious attention during the 2001 session of Congress. The only significant piece of legislation that passed was a modest Brownfields reform bill. The legislation, H.R. 2869, combined House-passed legislation providing small businesses relief from Superfund liability and Senate-approved language reforming the Brownfields program. H.R. 2869 was literally passed in the closing minutes of the session on December 20 after almost being derailed over a dispute whether the Davis-Bacon federal wage law would apply to Superfund and Brownfields cleanups under the bill.
On November 26, 2001, President Bush signed appropriations legislation (H.R. 2620) to fund the Environmental Protection Agency. Unlike recent years, the bill was free of any contentious "policy riders." For FY02, the bill provides:
