Alan Lowenthal

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

And I am proud to be a co-sponsor and to support this legislation.

The governor has also led New Mexico to join my own state of California in committing to a 100 percent carbon-free electric grid.

It is crystal clear that where oil and gas development occurs, robust state and Federal actions are needed to protect the public's health and the places and landscapes that the people who live there value.

The Subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony on the impacts of oil and gas development on air quality and sacred sites.

While the Federal Government refuses to do its job to hold companies accountable, state officials, such as Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, are taking the lead, coming up with new ways to reduce the harmful effects of oil and gas…

I thank you for listening to my testimony regarding the careful balance the Navajo Nation and Federal Government must strike in the protection of greater Chaco and the economic sustenance of our government and its people.

I hope that other governors follow your lead.

I am very honored to represent the Port of Long Beach. At one time, I represented in the State legislature both ports.

The folks that come through Los Angeles, as an example, pay more than $200 million a year in harbor maintenance tax, yet they don't see necessarily the dividends returned in further investment in that infrastructure.

Full utilization should be supported across the board--as it benefits everyone.

The success of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are only as strong as their partnership with the Federal government in maintaining our infrastructure.

Congressman Lowenthal led an effort in the early part of that decade to work on distributing trucks in a better way to reduce idling, congestion on our freeways.

I look forward to working with all of my colleagues as we find common ground to address the continuing needs of all our ports and harbors.

For years that the NTSB and other stakeholders have been concerned that Federal agencies haven't implemented clear guidelines to ensure drivers and other transportation workers are screened for sleep apnea.

I have serious sleep apnea, which I was not even aware of.

So, Ms. Homendy, can you tell us more about the NTSB recommendations, and how great a safety risk is posed by sleep apnea?

I am struck by reports that individuals with obstructive sleep apnea are twice as likely to be involved in motor vehicle accidents than are the general public.

I am proud to be 1 of the 115 co-sponsors of that legislation.

And for the Gwich'in people, it is simply sacrosanct. They call it, 'the sacred place where life begins.'

I beseech you on behalf of a loving, liberating, and life-giving God who fills all things because He created all things, to pass H.R. 1146 and protect the Holy and Sacred Place Where Life Begins.

But the way the Coastal Plain was forced open in the 2017 tax bill was not thoughtful.

There is absolutely no need to open the Arctic Refuge to oil and gas drilling.

It is our responsibility to deal with climate change.

I believe it is important to listen to these local voices regarding the impacts of oil and gas development, and what that will mean to the Coastal Plain and the way of life that it sustains.