Richard Hudson: “I thank you for your strong leadership here in Congress. Often a new Member of Congress comes to town and spends a…”

“I thank you for your strong leadership here in Congress. Often a new Member of Congress comes to town and spends a little bit of time learning the ropes, maybe sitting in the back row observing, but that is not true of Mark Walker. Mark Walker has quickly become a leader in Congress and particularly on issues such as this. Tonight is the people's night. Government accountability is the topic. I thank the gentleman for bringing up the issue of the EPA. We had a hearing Friday in the Energy and Commerce Committee, on which I serve, in which we had the acting assistant administrator who oversees the Clean Air Act. We were looking at this new proposed rule that the EPA has put out having to do with ground-level ozone. Now in 2008, the EPA issued a rule that brought the levels of ground- level ozone down to 75 parts per billion. Based on that number, many counties in North Carolina and across this country were out of attainment. Everyone wants clean air. Everyone wants clean water. Even those of us who are concerned about jobs know that if you don't have clean air and clean water, you can't attract industry, and you can't have businesses grow in your community. But you have to look at the real science, and you have to look at the real numbers. And the truth is, since 1980, we have cut ground-level ozone levels 30 percent in this country. We have done a tremendous job, and that has been driven by industry.…”