Political Quotes

“I rise not just in opposition, but strong opposition to this amendment. The bill as reported by the Energy and Commerce Committee is a bad bill for air quality and public health, but this bill appears doomed to get even worse as we continue to amend it on the floor. If the Latta amendment were adopted, it would eviscerate a cornerstone of the Clean Air Act without a single committee hearing to discuss the implications of this action, and that's nothing short of reckless policymaking. The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards based on the science of how air pollution affects health and the environment. EPA scientists and an independent scientific advisory committee then recommend health-based standards. That is peer-reviewed, and they look at the impact of air pollution on health overall, and then on sensitive groups, such as children and the elderly, because we don't want a society where the sensitive people like the children and the elderly can't live with the rest of us. These national air quality standards essentially identify the level of ambient air pollution that's safe for people to breathe. With these health-based standards as the goalposts, States develop plans to control pollution and meet these goals. Cost is front and center in this planning. States can identify which pollution-control measures are most cost effective and rule out measures that produce more costs than benefits.…”