Frank Pallone: “I think that the Republican leadership consistently tries to pretend when we talk about the environment, that we are…”

“I think that the Republican leadership consistently tries to pretend when we talk about the environment, that we are sort of the tree huggers. Not that there is anything wrong with hugging trees, but they forget the fact we are mainly talking about the public health and that when we talk about clean water, air and cleaning up hazardous waste sites, we are talking about direct health implications for the average person, for children, for mothers, whatever. Also, I am glad the gentlewoman brought out, she certainly knows as a member of the Committee on Appropriations that we continue to operate under these stopgap funding measures which are still creating tremendous problems for the EPA and their ability to enforce the law to clean up Superfund sites, to do proper investigations. I am a little afraid that because we have not had the shutdowns that the Republicans brought us a few months ago, at that time people were vividly aware of the fact that the EPA was closed down, that Superfund sites were not being cleaned up, that there was not anybody out there going against the polluters or finding the polluters.”