Harry Reid: “in recent years, some of my colleagues have opposed elevating the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet-level…”

“in recent years, some of my colleagues have opposed elevating the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet-level status. You and I have argued that the protection of our public health and environment, EPA's mandate, is as important as the congressional mandates which guide other Cabinet-level agencies. If the EPA enjoyed the same status as the Department of Energy or the Interior Department, maybe EPA's policies would carry the day occasionally. As things stand, EPA is certainly losing the battle within this administration from clean air to climate change to snowmobiles in our national parks. EPA's views are overridden, undervalued, and watered down. Take the issue of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I have spoken about these issues before. I have offered amendments that have been adopted in this regard. Snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park has become popular in recent years; so popular, in fact, that the activities overwhelm the parks, its employees, and its wildlife. Up to 1,000 snowmobilers enter the Yellowstone Park on winter weekends, most of them through the gateway community of West Yellowstone, MT. On steel cold days, a visible haze hangs over the park's gate and surrounding area. Rangers at this park wore Park Service-issued respirators this winter because the air quality had been so degraded by emissions from snowmobile engines.”