Political Quotes

“Thank you. I appreciate the gentleman joining us and his observations, in particular, the thought that the sky is falling rhetoric is not necessarily born out. I am reminded that 3 years ago one of the operators of perhaps the dirtiest coal-powered plant in the country, in Homer City, Pennsylvania, warned that there would be immediate and devastating consequences from the Obama administration's push to clean up pollution from coal. It was facing the requirement to cut sulfur dioxide pollution by 80 percent in less than a year, and it sought to block the rule. They were unsuccessful. In fact, it was the recent regulation that the EPA's-- excuse me--the Supreme Court upholding the EPA's rule in this case was initiated by the Homer City generating station that precipitated all of this. But today, the Homer City power plant is now a model. It hasn't been shut down. There haven't been devastating consequences for that community. It has been able to adopt new regulations, set them in place. It has dramatically reduced its emissions, and it is operating successfully. The EPA estimates that about 30 percent of the coal-powered units in the United States are operating without scrubbers. Remember, our friend from Maryland talked about the immediate health benefits, not just environmental. The pollution control equipment is not only for sulfur dioxide but mercury. {time} 1245 It is inexcusable that there are plants still operating without these minimal protections. Mr.…”