Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague for those generous comments, and I am pleased to be here today to express why this bill should not pass. Mr. Chairman, the bill is called the Promoting New Manufacturing Act. We would all want to do that--what a nice title--but the bill does not live up to the title. The bill does not do anything to promote manufacturing, and it does not do anything to improve the permitting process for new and expanding facilities, but it does weaken air quality protections. It allows more pollution, and it threatens public health. Now, let me explain why I reached that conclusion. The Clean Air Act requires a new or an expanding source of air pollution to obtain permits with pollution limits before the facility starts construction. These pre-construction permits ensure that a new or an expanded facility will not increase local air pollution to levels that violate National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which are based on public health. When the EPA issues a new, more protective air quality standard to reflect the latest science, permit applicants have to meet the new standard and show their emissions will not increase the amount of pollution that will then end up harming public health. This bill, H.R. 4795, creates a loophole in this process.…”