Political Quotes

“I want to thank my colleague from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) for coauthoring this amendment with me to H.R. 2401, the TRAIN Act. It's an important bipartisan amendment that hits directly on what Americans, particularly my constituents in Illinois, are facing every day, the high cost of gasoline. Later this year, it's expected that the EPA will promulgate rules on gasoline refiners mandating that they offer sulfur levels and vapor pressure by 70 percent. This would be even further below the already low levels mandated in 2004. In 2004, the EPA's tier 2 rules lowered sulfur and gasoline by 90 percent. The impacts of these new rules could force refineries in the U.S. to slash their gasoline production by up to 14 percent, leaving the United States even more dependent on foreign sources of oil. Our amendment would require the EPA just to study the economic costs of these new fuel requirements. Before delivering what could be a devastating blow to the customer and to our economy, the EPA should first provide data to show lowering the sulfur content will actually achieve cost-effective, real emissions reductions in air quality and health and welfare benefits. Americans are fed up with the volatility in the gasoline markets. While we may not be able to control the price of oil on the global market, we can control the cost of regulations on our fuel. Every dollar that's taken out of the taxpayer pocket due to new regulation is a dollar that's not going to refuel the American economy.…”