Chellie Pingree: “This amendment completely eliminates the Council on Environmental Quality. This important office is responsible for…”

“This amendment completely eliminates the Council on Environmental Quality. This important office is responsible for coordinating the Federal Government's efforts to improve, preserve, and protect Americans' public health and the environment. These are very important tasks. It also works to ensure that environmental reviews for infrastructure projects and Federal actions are thorough, efficient, and reflect the input of the public and local communities. This proposed amendment would hobble the office and result in significant delays to infrastructure projects across the country at exactly the wrong time. Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”