Political Quotes

“And my colleagues, I strongly oppose this bill on substantive grounds. It nullifies critical EPA rules to cut toxic air pollution from solid waste incinerators and large industrial boilers. It threatens EPA's ability to issue new rules that actually protect public health by forcing it to set emission standards based on an industry wish list. And on top of that, it allows polluters to avoid compliance with the new rules indefinitely. That is enough for me to vote ``no.'' I think this is a very bad bill. But this bill has another mark against it because it does not comply with the Republican leadership's policy for discretionary spending. Some people may think, so what? Why make an issue of this? The simple fact is that the Republicans established a set of rules for the House at the beginning of the Congress, and they aren't willing to play by those rules. When Congress organized this year, the majority leader announced that the House would be following what's called a discretionary CutGo rule. When a bill authorizes discretionary funding, that funding must be explicitly limited to a specific amount. And the leader's protocols also required that the specific amount be offset by a reduction in an existing authorization. This bill violates those requirements. First, the bill does not include a specific authorization for EPA to implement the bill's provisions.…”