Political Quotes

“Our country's worst polluters don't deserve a get out of jail free card. I think that's an unintended consequence of the current language of the bill, absent this amendment. And I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to adopt this amendment. Regardless of one's position on the underlying bill, one thing I hope we can all agree on is that the most egregious polluters--these are polluters that Republican and Democratic State administrations, Republican and Democratic experts agree are the most egregious polluters, those who simply disregard the law knowingly, those who repeatedly ignore State regulation, are bad actors and they should not be among those who benefit from this bill. The States deserve to have the EPA back them up and help them keep tabs on these polluters who continually violate State rules. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these polluters have escaped not only punishment but simply increased scrutiny. Polluters that continually violate the law are classified as ``significant noncompliance.'' That's the term that's used. This classification simply puts these polluters under a greater microscope by the EPA. It doesn't change authorities. It doesn't engender some new regulatory scheme. It simply ensures that the EPA is keeping a close eye on them and ensuring that State programs are being followed. Again, I believe it's a piece of this that's outside of this larger State versus Federal debate.…”