On the recordOctober 5, 2011
I thank the ranking member for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I have some questions that I want to ask the Members on the other side. How much time do you need? How much time are you asking the American people to wait? How much longer do they have to wait for the EPA to finally come up with rules and regulations that will regulate the cement kiln industry, an industry that up until this date, 13 years later--13 years later--still no regulation on the cement kiln industry? Thirteen years. And then you have the audacity to come before this Congress and come before the American people and say, after 13 years, We want you to wait even longer. Another year and a half for the EPA to act on this bill and another 5 years, another 5 years before this bill will force them to comply. That's a total of 18 years, 19 years, 19\1/ 2\ years. You want the American people to continue to breathe bad air, to get diseases, cancer, lung diseases, another 19 years? How dare you come before the American people and come before this Congress and say you want more time. They've had 13 years, and most of the industries in this Nation have already complied. This one industry, the only one, the one you're trying to protect, it's the only one that's excluded. And I say we can't wait any longer. The American people can't wait any longer. Our children can't wait any longer. Our senior citizens can't wait any longer. We can't wait any longer. We cannot give them another 7 years.
