John Tierney: “Reclaiming my time, I have respect for that, but the short part of the matter is that people are being put out of work…”

“Reclaiming my time, I have respect for that, but the short part of the matter is that people are being put out of work at the EPA and enforcement will not proceed as it should on this. This is nothing new. This majority and this administration have had a hostile attitude toward environmental protection for several years. In 1995, the House majority attacked an astounding 17 riders to eviscerate the EPA. And over several years running, the EPA was forbidden to spend any funds to implement or even prepare to implement the Kyoto Protocol that combatted global climate change. Frankly, without the efforts of colleagues in the Senate, without vetoes of then President Clinton, and without substantial public outcry, the EPA simply would have been crippled. Further, it seems this administration has not learned anything from the last several months. Nearly every public indicator signals there is no issue on which the public and the administration disagree more strongly than on the environment. From clean air to water quality, the public is acutely aware that the majority and the White House are not protecting the people's interest or their needs. Now they seek to attempt to undercut the EPA by shifting enforcement responsibility entirely to the States.”