Lois Capps: “I want to speak in strong opposition to this reckless bill and the abundance of extraneous and irresponsible provisions…”

“I want to speak in strong opposition to this reckless bill and the abundance of extraneous and irresponsible provisions that it contains. Right now we are down to the wire on defaulting on our debt. But instead of focusing on a way forward, the majority is offering up this ill-conceived piece of legislation, a bill that is polluted--and I emphasize ``polluted''--with unrelated and inappropriate riders that do not belong in a spending bill. The reality is that these riders will have very little impact on our national deficit, but they will have a huge and lasting effect on our health, our environment, and our natural resources. So why are these programs being targeted? Well, we've seen this before with H.R. 1 earlier this year, and we're seeing it again now. The majority is choosing to reward Big Oil and polluters at the expense of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the wildlife and wild places we hold dear. Mr. Chairman, it's not an exaggeration to say that this bill drastically undermines our government's ability to protect our environment.…”