On the recordFebruary 16, 2017
I appreciate the opportunity that my colleague from Hawaii has given me to ask a question. Particularly, I appreciate his willingness to be on the floor making this case because being the guardians of clean air and clean water in the United States of America is an incredible responsibility, and the individual we place in this position as Director of the Environmental Protection Agency is going to make decisions that will affect the life and death of millions of American citizens, that will affect the quality of life of millions of American citizens. When the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency proceeds to say we are to fight for the mercury standard, that means that fewer children will be exposed to a persistent neurotoxin that stunts the development of our children's brains. On the other hand, if that individual says: I am not concerned about that or I think I will just look the other way because I want to help the fossil fuel industry make a few more bucks, and he decides that weighs more heavily than the health of our children, then the health of our children is impacted. That is true with one form of pollutant and another, and they are just across the landscape. This is an incredibly important position. That is why understanding the viewpoints of the nominee is so critical. My understanding is that the individual who controls access to the emails in Oklahoma is the attorney general; am I correct in that understanding?
