Bobby Rush

I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman. A very interesting panel so far.

I can assure you, Mr. Chairman, that most of the farmers across this Nation will disagree with that position as we have witnessed the worst year of record temperatures, drought and crop loss in modern American history.

I would argue that the $2.4 billion that goes to the big five oil companies in tax breaks every year could be better spent.

This hearing, Mr. Chairman, gives us an opportunity to discuss the many different initiatives that President Obama has put in place to help us come closer to reaching this goal.

Unlike the simplistic Sarah Palin 'Drill, baby, drill' Romney-Ryan energy plan, President Obama has put forward a comprehensive energy policy.

I think that is an incredibly positive development.

To spend this much time on a bill using these resources, I hope that it is not just about symbolism.

I just cannot believe that if this bill passed, it kind of reminds me of a gag rag that we are muffling or gagging the voice of the American people as it relates to our environmental leadership.

Let us talk about China and the Obama administration in terms of sending checks to China.

This would be laughable if it was not so serious in that we are wasting precious taxpayer dollars on this shallow non-productive hearing on this bill that I guarantee you will not see the light of day.

Climate change doesn't just affect your constituents in Kentucky or my constituents in Illinois. We are living in a global environment and climate change affects all of us.

This bill is not aimed at producing not one job for the American people or it is not aimed at moving our country's energy policy forward not even one iota, one scintilla.

In my 20 years in this Congress, I have never seen nor heard of anything that is so shallow, any legislation that appeared before any committee in the Congress that is so shallow, so ill-informed, so misplaced than this piece of…

However, you testified that domestic oil production is actually the highest it has been since 1998.

While Democrats under President Obama's leadership have put forth a truly all-of-the-above energy agenda, it appears that my Republican colleagues are once again taking their cue from one of their most influential leaders, Sarah Palin, and…

There certainly is a tremendous rate of activity taking place, particularly in the shale resource-prone areas in the United States.

Mr. Chairman, back in May, my office was notified that the NRC was recently honored by U.S. Black Engineering Information Technology Magazine as one of the government agencies considered most supportive of the engineering departments of…

I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank again all of the NRC commissioners for your attendance here today.

I just want to reiterate and restate my call that rather than us moving so quickly to markup, especially in light of this discussion, that we take time to invite the FDA and the EPA here so that we can get to the bottom of some of these…

I don't see the solution to these issues. I don't see that being eminent and overnight, reality, because it has to do with access to healthcare.

I just don't see how we can avoid it.

I have to come down on the side of my constituents.

I have been working on this issue of asthma for quite a while and it is a real acute concern of mine and it has been and always will be because it disproportionately impacts my community.

Yes, and we can do it on Friday. I don't have any reason why that isn't OK, but we need to get the EPA and the Department of Agriculture at the witness table.

I want them sitting right there at that table so that we can have a vigorous debate or discussion.