Barbara Boxer

To me the most important thing is that our people are protected. Today, we took a giant step backward on that front, a giant step.

It is time to restore much-needed certainty, consistency, and effectiveness and S. 1140 does just the opposite.

We need a strong Clean Water Act to ensure this does not happen.

Elections have consequences.

My amendment ensures that the Secretary of the Army and the Administrator of the EPA retain their authority to protect our Nation's drinking water supply.

The EPA estimates that up to 3.5 million people fall ill from swimming in waters contaminated by sanitary sewer overflows every year.

If the Barrasso bill, S. 1140, passes, all of these new exemptions will be blocked.

These groups understand the important link between clean water and outdoor recreation. These groups work with Republicans and Democrats alike and they fiercely oppose this bill.

We are putting the lives of our people in danger.

This is the Environment Committee and not the anti-environment committee.

We are the environment committee. We are not the pollution committee. We are supposed to protect people from harmful pollution

We are supposed to protect the health of the people while ensuring that we have an economically robust society.

It is very clear that while the aggregate emissions of common air pollutants dropped 72 percent, the U.S. Domestic Product grew 219 percent.

I wish the whole Country could have seen this panel. You are all so good.

Mr. Chairman, if I could just thank the colleagues before you leave. I just wanted to make a point.

Today's hearing will examine the critically important steps that the Obama administration is taking to strengthen the ozone standard, which will save lives and protect the health of our children and families.

Scientists overwhelmingly agree that EPA needs to adopt a stricter standard to protect the health of the American people, especially our children and the elderly.

As Senator Markey said, and as I have proven with my documents, that is so much baloney.

When we passed the Clean Air Act, everybody said the same thing that my dear friend, the Chairman said, the same thing my friend the Majority Leader said, and Senator Thune, a staggering blow to the economy.

You said, ozone pollution is bad for the lungs. That is pretty straightforward.

We know that ground-level ozone, often referred to as smog, results in dangerous air pollution that is extremely harmful to human health.

Everyone has a right to know that the air they breathe is safe, because if they cannot breathe, they cannot go to school, they cannot work, they get sick, they go to the emergency room, and they do not have the quality of life they have a…

To sit here and say there are going to be no jobs and no development as you meet the standards is totally false.

We are here to make life better for people, not to fight for the polluters, period, end of quote.

If you really want to look at what happens when there is no regulation on air, look at communist China, look at communist Eastern Europe.