Kathy Castor: “The debate on the GOP pollution bills has been very heated at times. The debate has exposed very divergent views between…”

“The debate on the GOP pollution bills has been very heated at times. The debate has exposed very divergent views between the parties here in Congress on the importance of clean air and on the value of good health for all Americans. Despite our differences on how we treat air pollution, my amendment offers us an opportunity to come together on a bipartisan basis, specifically to protect the health of our older neighbors--America's seniors. The passage of my amendment will not prevent the passage of the underlying bill. If the amendment is adopted, it will be incorporated into the bill, and the bill will proceed to a vote. The amendment I offer today will ensure that we respect the health of our older neighbors, our parents, and our grandparents by protecting the quality of the air that they breathe. Seniors are more susceptible than others to the harmful impacts of dirty air and pollution, and our neighbors need to understand what is in the air that they breathe, so my amendment proposes to do two things: One, require waste incinerators located within 5 miles of a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or a hospital to simply use the most effective pollution control methods available. Two, require polluting boilers to notify surrounding communities of toxic emissions.…”