On the recordApril 18, 2012
I would just like to remind the House that this amendment is the same bill that the House passed last year with a vote of 267 144. We moved this through regular order through our committee hearings, subcommittee and full committee markup, and I want to say, as I recall, by nearly a 3 1 margin in the full committee did we pass this amendment. This amendment establishes a program that protects human health and environment. It requires groundwater monitoring and requires that States monitor for the same constituents that EPA identified as being important for the regulation of coal ash. The amendment also requires that States require liners for new structures and establishes appropriate controls on fugitive dust. For 2 years, EPA has been considering regulating coal ash. This bill would allow the safe use of coal ash in such products as concrete, wallboard, and roofing shingles. As the gentleman from West Virginia said, it saves 316,000 jobs. This is a highway and infrastructure bill. It is a jobs bill. This saves American jobs, and it is very important that the House continue to support the McKinley amendment, whether it be a freestanding bill, as we did last year, or the amendment to this bill.
