Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2218, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, an important and bipartisan jobs bill. Mr. Chairman, today's vote is the culmination of over a 2-year pursuit of a thoughtful, sensible and transparent solution to a serious regulatory challenge; and while the coal ash bill has continued to improve since we first debated and passed the legislation back in 2011, we have stayed true to our original principles. First, the bill sets out strict standards for coal ash management, but it leaves the permitting program to the States. This approach is important because it ensures consistent environmental protection but gives the day-to-day implementation to the States, which have the combination of expertise and dedication to get the job done right for their States. Second, it takes EPA's 3-year-old proposal to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste off the table. When EPA first published this proposal, it knew that it had overreached, but EPA faced a very tough dilemma. It wanted a permit program for coal ash, but, in fact, the Solid Waste Disposal Act did not give EPA the authority over coal ash unless it were labeled ``hazardous.'' This legislation offers a solution. The administration has stopped asking for the ``hazardous'' designation--and good thing. Beginning this year, EPA stopped seeking that the Agency, instead of the States, do the permitting.…”