Lois Capps: “There are times when we come to this floor and engage in heated debate, and we've heard some heated debate on this bill.…”

“There are times when we come to this floor and engage in heated debate, and we've heard some heated debate on this bill. But my final amendment offers us the opportunity to come together and do something extraordinarily important, and that is to protect our children and grandchildren from mercury and other toxic air pollutants. I want to be clear. The passage of this amendment will not prevent the passage of the underlying bill. If it's adopted, my amendment will be incorporated into the bill and the bill will be immediately voted upon. Now, I make no apologies for opposing the bill, but regardless of how one feels about this bill, or even EPA's cement standards, my amendment should be something that we can all agree upon, and that's because it only does two simple things: First, it says we should have safer air standards on giant cement plants if they're located near schools or hospitals with a maternity ward or neonatal unit. That's because these large factories are the third largest source of mercury pollution in the United States. {time} 1110 We all know that mercury is extremely dangerous to young children, to nursing mothers, and to women of childbearing age. Mercury exposure affects a developing child's ability to walk, to talk, to read, to write, to learn. That's why I think none of us should want to see this in our districts: A giant cement plant in Midlothian, Texas, spewing mercury and other pollutants in the air right next to J.A.…”