Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Diesel Emission Reduction Act of 2010. This bill would reauthorize the extremely successful Diesel Emission Reduction Act, known as ``DERA'', enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. Since its creation the DERA program has provided Federal grants and loans to support more than 3,000 projects to retrofit diesel engines to reduce pollution. The emissions reductions achieved by DERA have resulted in over $600 million in public health benefits so far. The program has provided over $13 in health and economic benefits for every $1 spent on retrofits, and has created or sustained nearly 9,000 jobs since Fiscal Year 2008. The legislation now before us would reauthorize the DERA program through Fiscal Year 2016 and would make a number of important improvements. Notably it would allow EPA to establish a rebate program, alongside the existing grant and loan program. It would also allow private entities under contract with a non-profit or government to apply directly for funding, instead of limiting the program to government entities. These improvements will help this program to continue to clean our air and protect public health from diesel pollution. This is a bipartisan bill championed by Senators Carper and Voinovich and deserves our support. I urge a ``yes'' vote.”