IV
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 291
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a Presidential
commission should be established to investigate whether there has been
any measurable depletion of stratospheric ozone beyond that caused by
natural phenomena, whether it has been proven that the use of
chloroflourocarbons damages stratospheric ozone, and whether the phase-
out of chloroflourocarbons will have any effect on stratospheric ozone.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 28, 1993
Mr. DOOLITTLE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
a Presidential commission should be established to inves-
tigate whether there has been any measurable depletion
of stratospheric ozone beyond that caused by natural
phenomena, whether it has been proven that the use
of chloroflourocarbons damages stratospheric ozone, and
whether the phaseout of chloroflourocarbons will have
any effect on stratospheric ozone.
Whereas, based on the theory that man-made chemicals con-
tribute to ozone depletion and are responsible for the
thinning of the ozone layer in the stratosphere and the
creation of the ‘‘ozone hole’’, the United States in 1987
signed the Montreal Protocol to ban chloroflourocarbons
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(hereinafter in this preamble referred to as ‘‘CFCs’’) by
the year 2000;
Whereas on February 17, 1992, the United States made a
further unilateral commitment to complete the phaseout
of CFCs by 1995;
Whereas substantial questions have been raised by many
prominent scientists regarding the validity of the theory
that the ozone layer in the stratosphere is thinning and
that man-made chemicals cause such thinning;
Whereas scientists have challenged the accuracy and interpre-
tation of the data that are being used to support the
claim that the ozone layer is thinning;
Whereas scientists have pointed out that the seasonal vari-
ation in the thickness of the ozone layer above Antarctica
was first measured in the mid-1950s by British scientist
Gordon Dobson, as well as by a French scientific team,
BEFORE the use of CFCs became extensive;
Whereas it has been alleged that it is the chlorine in the
CFCs that breaks down ozone molecules and causes a
thinning in the ozone layer, even though 600 million tons
of chlorine are released each year into the atmosphere
from the evaporation of seawater and 36 million tons of
chlorine are released each year from volcanoes, compared
to only 7,500 tons of chlorine released from the break-
down of CFCs;
Whereas CFCs thus contribute about 1 thousandth of 1 per-
cent of the total amount of chlorine released into the at-
mosphere by natural sources;
Whereas it is estimated that the mandated phaseout of CFCs
may require the replacement of 610 million refrigerators
and freezers, 120 million cold storage units, 150 million
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automobile air conditioners, and several thousand refrig-
eration units used for the storage of medicine, blood sup-
plies, and vaccines, because the approved replacement
chemical cannot be used in existing refrigeration systems;
Whereas CFCs are noncorrosive, nontoxic, safe, and relatively
inexpensive to produce;
Whereas the main refrigerant replacement approved by the
Environmental Protection Agency to replace freon, one of
the CFCs, not only requires different equipment but is
toxic, costly, and so corrosive that it will require replace-
ment of the equipment in which it is being used every 3
to 7 years;
Whereas it is estimated by the refrigeration industry that the
cost of replacement of equipment in which CFCs are
being used in the United States and the increased cost
of the replacement refrigerant could cost industry and
consumers $2 trillion;
Whereas such replacement will mean an interruption in food
storage and preservation in the United States, where 75
percent of the food consumed is refrigerated through the
use of CFCs; and
Whereas such a delay in the development and an interruption
in the food delivery chain will have particularly severe ef-
fects in the developing countries, where it could cause an
estimated additional 20 to 40 million deaths per year
from disease and starvation: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that—
(1) a Presidential commission should be estab-
lished to investigate whether there has been any
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measurable depletion of stratospheric ozone beyond
the seasonal variations caused by natural phenom-
ena, such as the Arctic winter and loss of sunlight;
(2) such a commission should also investigate
whether it has been proven that the use of man-
made chloroflourocarbons damages stratospheric
ozone, 
and 
whether 
the 
phaseout 
of
chloroflourocarbons will have any effect on levels of
ozone in the stratosphere; and
(3) the membership of the commission should
be equally apportioned between representatives from
the scientific community whose published experi-
mental 
and 
theoretical 
research 
shows 
that
chloroflourocarbons have a negligible, if any, effect
on ozone depletion, and representatives whose re-
search makes contrary claims.
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