Chellie Pingree: “I appreciate the concerns of the Member from North Carolina, and I will give him credit. They have better barbecue than…”

“I appreciate the concerns of the Member from North Carolina, and I will give him credit. They have better barbecue than my home State. We have got you beat on lobsters, but that is how it goes. I want to say I think this argument is somewhat cynical and a little too suspicious of our government; perhaps Republicans have gotten too far down this road. My understanding is this summer, a conservative media outlet ran a sensationalized story about EPA's regulatory overreach. The story claimed that EPA has its eyes on pollution from backyard barbecues. The problem with the story and this amendment is that it is based on a false premise and a mischaracterization of important work. EPA operates a successful and innovative grant program that encourages students around the Nation to design solutions for a sustainable future. It is called People, Prosperity, and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability. Its purpose is to foster innovation, not to create regulations. The EPA awarded one of these design grants to a group of University of California students working to design a system to make barbecues burn cleaner and be better for the environment. The students received $15,000 from the EPA for the idea. In addition, the university has said the idea has potential for global application. Mr. Chair, in many developing nations, women hunch over traditional cook stoves for hours a day, breathing in toxic smoke.…”