Small businesses exempt from Superfund lawsuits.(Small Business Liability Protection Act)(Brief Article)

Lobbyists from the National Federation of Independent Business shook the hand of Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., after the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill that would exempt most small businesses from liability for cleanup costs at Superfund sites.

They congratulated Shimkus not only because he was a supporter of the bill, which the House passed May 22, but also because his constituents provided a dramatic case study as to why the legislation is needed.

Two years ago, 165 small companies in Quincy, Ill., were assessed a total of $3 million in cleanup costs because their garbage was hauled in the 1970s to a local landfill that was …