Lois Capps: “Later today the House will vote on the REINS Act. This is a terrible piece of legislation that will make it next to…”

“Later today the House will vote on the REINS Act. This is a terrible piece of legislation that will make it next to impossible to protect Americans' health or the environment. It would allow either Chamber of Congress to stop efforts to keep our water and air clean or to protect the public from unsafe food--by simply doing nothing. This bill sets up a congressional approval requirement that is a recipe for more gridlock. It would mean more bureaucracy and more delay, generating uncertainty for businesses and weaker rules to protect consumers. Sherwood Boehlert, the former Republican chairman of the House Science Committee and one of our most thoughtful former colleagues, recently wrote a scathing piece in The Hill about the REINS Act. He said the bill would result in ``a virtual shutdown of the system that will leave the public exposed.'' Madam Speaker, the REINS Act is an outrageous effort to throw out a system that has protected American families and communities for more than 100 years. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting down this irresponsible and misguided legislation. ____________________”