Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, my amendment would strike section 434, a harmful policy rider that limits the ability of our environmental agencies to take action to improve public health and to fight the root causes of climate change. If we are to lower the impact of greenhouse gas emissions, we need Federal action. The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is from burning fossil fuels, which raises atmospheric levels of CO<INF>2</INF>. Greenhouse gas emissions can affect coastal regions, energy, defense, food supplies, wildfire preparedness, and our quality of life. This rider blocks the Environmental Protection Agency's ongoing efforts to reduce the damage that hydrofluorocarbons do to our climate. Hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, are factory-made gasses that are used in air-conditioning and refrigeration and are up to 10,000 times more potent pound for pound than carbon dioxide. While not as abundant as carbon dioxide, super pollutants, like HFCs and methane, have contributed up to 40 percent of observed global warming. Unless we act now, the United States' HFC emissions are expected to double by 2020 and to triple by 2030. By limiting the EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act to propose, finalize, or enforce any regulation or guidance regarding HFCs, this rider would undercut its ability to protect public health and to demonstrate American leadership in emissions reductions.…”