I believe that the best oversight makes constructive recommendations to improve agency performance.

Well, these dire predictions never happened. Today House Republicans claim that the Clean Power Plan will cause a surge in electricity bills and effectively end coal use in America. This is just the same old scare tactic.

If my Republican colleagues have a better idea for protecting our planet for our children and grandchildren, they should speak up.

In time historians may identify this as the moment that America got serious about tackling climate change.

we want to make it easy for them to participate and we want to make it so that they want to be involved.

if this rule provides that kind of certainty for the agriculture industry, I am baffled because none of the agriculture industry wants this.

I firmly believe that this activity should be rethought by your agency, your department and get into consultation with the agriculture industry.

In South Dakota we have had ongoing problems with NRCS with inconsistent policy from county to county, a backlog of problems, some producers waiting months, if not years, for determinations, so it hasn't always been a good experience.

So is regulation or reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere going to result in 100,000 fewer asthma attacks?

You also said in your opening statement, that we will avoid 100,000 asthma attacks under these rules.

Can you provide us with the formula and the data that you put into the formula to come up with that answer?

I don't see carbon dioxide listed as a trigger for inciting reactive airway disease.

Does this figure of 100,000 include those asthma attacks that would have been avoided simply because of the passage of the Clean Air Act?

I appreciate our witness being here so long with us this morning and your forbearance through our questions.

Some folks say, gosh, couldn't have EPA done a little bit better by setting some targets on energy efficiency and renewables?

I think it is very heartening that America is moving forward to tackle the challenges of the changing climate and carbon pollution.

I think the hallmark of it is the flexibility granted to the States.

The city of St. Petersburg is a leader nationally in what they are doing in lighting and solar power and eliminating methane and waste energy.