On the recordOctober 14, 2011
I'm just here to speak in support of the rule. First of all, on April 14, 2011, the Subcommittee on the Environment and the Economy, which I chair, held a legislative hearing on the coal ash bill, H.R. 1391. Based on this hearing and working with Democrats in the subcommittee, we modified the bill. We changed the bill, and then we had a voice vote out of subcommittee. Then we went to the full committee, and we had a bipartisan vote in the full committee. I think at least six Democrat votes, and two more that would have had they been there for the process. So we are working together with Democrats to bring a sensible bill to the floor. If we don't do this, it's projected in the coal ash recycling industry of this country we will lose 38,000 to 119,000 jobs. So we trust the State regulators. They do it for municipal solid waste. We're just making coal ash recyclable, the same as we do for municipal solid waste. It has bipartisan support. Thank you, Rules Committee, for making the amendments in order. I think five of the six amendments are Democrat amendments. So it's not perfect, but it allows us to move forward. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Again, I appreciate the words of my colleague from Illinois, but H.R. 1391 is not H.R. 2273. There was no legislative hearing on H.R. 2273.
