Ed Markey: “What we are hearing this afternoon, Mr. Chairman, is a whole bunch of phony baloney numbers about how this is going to…”

“What we are hearing this afternoon, Mr. Chairman, is a whole bunch of phony baloney numbers about how this is going to affect the cement industry, about how this is going to affect the concrete industry, when, in fact, industry after industry in the United States has been able to comply with rules which protect the public health and safety. First, let's just define what we're talking about and why American families are concerned about what the Portland cement industry is doing: It is airborne mercury which settles in lakes and rivers. It accumulates in fish and shellfish. In its most dangerous form, it is a neurotoxin that can lead to birth defects and stunted brain development. Since we are at the top of the food chain and doctors and dieticians across the country are urging families to eat more fish, we are simultaneously urging them, especially those with small children or who are women who may be pregnant, to consume these fish that have the neurotoxins in them that we know lead directly to brain damage, that lead to harm in children in our country. So this is a concrete example of what the Republican majority is now trying to do.”