Environmentalists face major hurdles in their call for Congress to reinstate the Superfund law's corporate taxes and should instead consider a bid for lawmakers to significantly boost the cleanup program's appropriations, says a Superfund expert who argues that such a strategy would likely have better prospects than the tax push. Kate Probst, an independent consultant who wrote extensively about the program during two decades at Resources for the Future (RFF), said on a U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) webcast that environmental groups could more reasonably achieve certain goals for Superfund - increased resources and stronger enforcement - by pushing for higher appropriations levels rather than the likely uphill climb in securing a tax. Probst said she believes the Superfund program has been underfunded since at least 2000. But, she said, from a practical standpoint, she would urge U.S. PIRG and other advocates to "put their energy behind" boosting the level of appropriations because she believes "that will happen faster and be more effective than trying to levy a new tax," noting that new taxes are unpopular.
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