Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7283, the Safeguarding Treatment for the Restoration of Ecosystems from Abandoned Mines Act, or the STREAM Act, introduced by our colleague, Representative Cartwright of Pennsylvania. The STREAM Act makes a technical correction to existing Federal law so that States and Tribes can use a portion of the $11.3 billion that Congress has already appropriated for abandoned coal mine cleanup to restore streams that are polluted by acid mine drainage. Acid mine drainage is heavily polluted water that flows out of abandoned coal mines into streams, making them toxic to all wildlife and often turning them a bright and unnatural orange. Acid mine drainage renders streams biologically dead. They become unusable, undrinkable, unfishable, and unswimmable. It also severely limits a region's potential economic growth. {time} 1615 Thankfully, we know how to clean up this type of mining pollution, and we know that doing so will bring enormous benefits to impacted communities. Investments made by existing Federal law for cleaning up abandoned coal mines are expected to create over 4,000 jobs a year over the next 15 years. That is 60,000 new, good-paying jobs in communities left behind by the coal industry. Cleaning up acid mine drainage also restores natural areas and brings back wildlife.…”