Political Quotes

“Woman, it seems that hardly a day goes by in this Chamber when the Republican majority fails to create jobs, endangers public health, and deep sixes the environment, and today is no different. Coal plants are usually accompanied by coal ash ponds and dry coal ash landfills, and they're disproportionately located in impoverished areas. Two-thirds of all of the ash ponds in the United States are located where household income is below the national median, according to Earthjustice. What that means is that poor people don't have a voice in what the majority is trying to do; and we can't rely on a voluntary patchwork of State regulations, which is what this bill would have us do. Now, in my own home State of Maryland, we have a decent record of environmental regulations, but I can't say that about our neighboring States. We need a national way to look at how we're contaminating or not our environments. The contamination of groundwater at the Gambrills coal ash plant in Maryland resulted in the single largest fine ever imposed by our State's Department of the Environment, and a $57 million settlement for the affected homeowners and businesses. The problem is that money can pay for medical treatment and compensate for the loss of property value in the right way, but it can't bring back health. It can't reverse the developmental disabilities or preserve the sense of home for people who are displaced.…”