Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to talk about the Wood Heater Emissions Reduction Act, or WHERA, which I am introducing today with my good friend (Ms. Murkowski), the senior Senator from Alaska. In 2005, my dear friend, former Senator Voinovich, came to me with a great idea--the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, or DERA. DERA didn't roll back emissions standards for diesel engines, but instead created an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant program to incentivize the use of newer diesel technology. Together, and joined by many of my colleagues that are still serving in the Senate today, we established one of the most successful clean air programs on the books. This program is one that is loved by retailers, manufactures, States and health groups alike. As many of my colleagues know, I'm someone that is always trying to find out what works and do more of it. When my staff explained to me the public health challenges that residential wood heaters present to communities, especially rural communities across this country; I knew the challenges were very similar to the ones we faced with diesel engines in 2005. I knew if DERA could be a successful program to retrofit or replace old diesel engines, we could use the program as a framework to replace residential wood heaters.…”