Political Quotes

“My amendment is very simple. It's a single line that adds, at line 15, ``including the health effects associated with the regulatory costs.'' It's a simple principle. Regulations cost money to implement. No one will dispute that. In fact, when the EPA or any other Federal agency wants to issue a new regulation, it's legally obligated to let Americans know both the costs and the benefits of these proposed rules. However, due to a narrow interpretation of this obligation, the EPA often avoids measuring all aspects of the full costs of its proposed regulations, including the impact of jobs lost and the adverse health effects of those lost jobs. Why is this important? I'm a doctor, and there's near universal agreement among doctors, scientists, and statisticians that joblessness and higher energy prices result in negative health outcomes--including suicide, respiratory illness, and a much higher likelihood of early deaths. Despite this, the EPA never admitted that there was a simple negative health effect resulting from its heavy-handed air quality regulations. Dr. Harvey Brenner of the University of North Texas has found that a substantial reduction in coal-powered electricity could cause between 170,000 and 300,000 premature deaths. A 2011 study by the Stony Brook University found that the risk of premature death was 63 percent higher for people who experienced an extended period of unemployment.…”