Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. The Clean Air Act was adopted in 1970, signed by President Nixon. Changes were made in 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. The heart of the Clean Air Act has been that EPA relies on the best science possible to determine what level of pollution is harmful for people to breathe. They decide what is safe. And based on the science, EPA sets a quality standard. This is the standard to protect public health. Then they take into consideration, at the State and local level, the costs of how to achieve that. They may give more time; they may do it in different ways. But section 206 of the bill would end this commonsense approach, the main part of the Clean Air Act, because it would make cost a factor in what is supposed to be a scientific decision about how much pollution is safe for a child to breathe. In setting a public health standard, it would give as much weight to a polluter's accountant as to a scientist. This is like going to your doctor, asking for a diagnosis, and he wants to tell you what your diagnosis is based on the cost of treatment. You want to know what's most important for your health. That's what's required of the EPA. You will hear over and over again Republicans saying, We've done well in reducing pollution.…”