Jim Inhofe: “it is very important everyone knows this is nothing but a huge tax increase on businesses, on industries. Many of them…”

“it is very important everyone knows this is nothing but a huge tax increase on businesses, on industries. Many of them are very frail at this time. They have nothing to do with pollution. Polluters-pay is happening right now. Since the inception of this program, 70 percent of the sites have been cleaned up and paid for by people who polluted. Last year, it was 87 percent. Where there is a polluter that can be found, that polluter pays. That system is working. If you have to have an $8.5 billion tax increase on various businesses--and right now we have businesses going out of business-- then this is your opportunity to do it. This is a huge tax increase, $8.5 billion. We do not need it, and it is unfair. By the way, we resoundingly defeated this amendment several times before. The last vote was 57 to 43. Many Democrats voted with us in voting against this tax increase. I encourage them to do the same now.”