Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, this atrocious bill, H.R. 2681, will make permanent changes to the Clean Air Act by weakening health- and science-based standards. Cement kilns are a major source of mercury pollution as well as of other toxic air pollution. However, until last year, these plants had managed to avoid any sort of requirement to reduce these emissions. Last year, the EPA finally finalized requirements for cement kilns to use readily available technology to cut their pollution. This bill that is before us today will now nullify the new health standards and direct the EPA to go back to the drawing board. Mr. Chairman, my Republican colleagues would like to frame this as a debate between jobs and public health benefits, but I believe that this is, indeed, a false choice. {time} 1510 I am for jobs. The people in my district need jobs, but also we need clean air in order to be alive to get to those jobs and to work those jobs. We know that since the inception of the Clean Air Act opponents of this law have been exaggerating the costs of implementing the regulations associated with the act while at the same time downplaying the benefits that the new rules have brought. H.R. 2681, the bill before us, does not take into account the positive impacts on the economy and jobs that EPA regulations will have by spurring additional research and development of cleaner technologies and by making these same plants more efficient.…”