Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleagues today to call for an immediate extension of the emergency unemployment benefits, including those who have hit the 99-week limit. Also, I want to ask for the extension of the payroll tax holiday for millions of Americans. I also urge my colleagues to reject attempts to attach these urgently needed economic recovery actions with partisan proposals to gut the Clean Air Act and support Big Oil at the expense of middle and low-income individuals. Republicans in the House have already tried to pass hundreds of anti- environmental bills, amendments, and policy riders. Apparently, this is not enough. Now Republicans want to combine repealing important Clean Air Act provisions with the extension of the payroll tax cut. Ironically, Mr. Speaker, repealing these Clean Air Act standards for industrial boilers would cost our economy $21 billion to $52 billion per year in higher health care costs resulting from asthma, lung cancer, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and premature deaths. Not surprisingly, Republicans have also included expediting approval of the Keystone pipeline in exchange for a payroll tax extension. This is unacceptable. The proposed route for the Keystone pipeline is currently being reviewed and revisited by the State Department. Also, past State Department environmental impact statements have been found to lack key information on the real and potential environmental impacts of the pipeline.…”