Bill Keating: “This bill gives the impression that we're going to deal with this issue in 5 years. If you look at the bill carefully…”

“This bill gives the impression that we're going to deal with this issue in 5 years. If you look at the bill carefully, you will find out, Mr. Chair, that indeed what it could postpone is the effect of this amendment forever. In fact, in terms of pollution, in terms of toxins, this is the equivalent of the ``pollution road to nowhere'' where there's no ending in sight, none that will ever be reached, and it's just nothing but a guise for the people to think they're doing something within the 5-year timeframe. Now, my amendment would allow the 5 years, but it would be a maximum of 5 years before the source has to be implemented and the appropriate changes are met in terms of emissions. Now, what else would this amendment do? This amendment would save 10,000 related deaths, avert 6,000 heart attacks, avoid nearly 70,000 asthma attacks, and the pollution reductions required in this rule would cut mercury emissions from cement kilns by over 90 percent. As all of us know, Mr. Chairman, mercury is a poisonous substance that affects the ability of infants and children to learn and to think. It also results in birth defects and cognitive disabilities. Cement kilns emit lead and arsenic which cause cancer and damage the nervous system. Now let's line up the costs and benefits. The costs--birth defects, cognitive disabilities, cancer, heart attacks, asthma, and attacks on the nervous system--are on one side of the ledger.…”