Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the fine ranking member of the full committee, for yielding me this time. Mr. Chair, I applaud the Obama administration for its veto threat of this abhorrent legislation that we are now considering, this just say no bill, which would effectively give Governors the power to sabotage EPA's proposed clean power plan by allowing them to opt out of the Federal requirements of the plan based on arbitrary and ambiguous determinations. Mr. Chair, when implemented, the clean power plan will allow the EPA to cut common pollution from some of the Nation's oldest, dirtiest, and most inefficient power plants. We know, Mr. Chair, that these same power plants account for the largest share of greenhouse gases from stationary sources in the country, and they are responsible for about one-third of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, Mr. Chair, there are no Federal limits on the amount of carbon pollution that these very same power plants are allowed to emit. The clean power plan would decrease power sector carbon emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by the year 2030. However, Mr. Chair, this bill is an attempt to abort EPA's efforts before they even have the chance to take hold, despite the fact that the clean power plan gives States great flexibility when implementing the rule, based on their existing utility infrastructure and policies. Mr.…”