On the recordDecember 12, 2012
First of all, I want to address some of these issues myself, and then I will yield to others who want to speak. There is an environmental problem along with this medical problem. The environmental problem is that there is a deterioration of the upper ozone layer. And the United States, under President George H.W. Bush, negotiated an international treaty called the Montreal Protocol to get those products off the market that add chlorofluorocarbons which cause this environmental damage. And so my friend from Texas is right: we can't get hair spray or deodorant that has the propellent that has been taken off the market. But no one's arguing we should let them come back on the market to sell off their products. There are substitutes. My hair is in place because I don't need those products any longer. And my friend from Texas is handling his deodorant problem adequately. The fact of the matter is there are other products for asthma that the people in the medical professions say is superior; and they say that Primatene Mist can lead to damage and become a threat to health. So why are we going to take this one drug and put it back on the market? With those comments, I now yield 3 minutes to my good friend from the State of Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the dean of the House. (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
