Jeff Merkley

Can you come up with a paper lid to replace this plastic lid on a McDonald's cup? Because the world would bless you.

The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act introduced by Senator Merkley--thank you, Senator Merkley--is the high water mark for EPR as articulated above.

We are now each consuming, it is estimated, a credit card of plastic every week in our food and our air and water.

We have a significant responsibility. We have the chaos of war in combination with the pandemic and general disruption in the country, and it is a moral responsibility to provide assistance.

The question that we have is for a large part of the caucus, this number, $3.5 trillion was already a compromise.

Senator Manchin was focused on the numbers this weekend. His concerns about inflation.

They`re too invested -- they support billionaires buying elections. They support gerrymandering to distort the representation of Americans in Congress.

I really believe that we have to before the month of October is out, we have to get this voting rights legislation done.

How do we make sure that every citizen has access to the ballot when state after state after state, 18 states and 30 laws so far are designed to prevent targeted groups from being able to vote?

After all the integrity of our elections is fundamental to our constitution, fundamental to our republic and this should be something that all hundred senators should sign on to.

If we come back and we do not have their support, then we have to find the path for 50 of us to get this done, unfortunately, without them.

So, there are three basic missions. One is to stop the dark money so that billionaires cannot buy elections, hiding and fighting - while hiding from the American public. The second goal is to stop gerrymandering.

Former President Trump saw in Georgia was that when people have access to the ballot box, community's turnout, and they elected Democrats as senators from Georgia. And his response was, we`re going to make it harder for black Georgians to…

It`s so helpful to have people on the front line who have experienced the direct impact of Republicans state house and Senate and governor who are trying to steal their right to vote, make it harder for them to vote by mail, to vote early…

Say everything is bigger in Texas. But what is bigger than defending our national right to vote and our freedom to vote?

No recess until we pass the voting rights act for every American. No recess until we stop the gerrymandering in which politicians pick their voters instead of voters picking their politicians.

When our Founders wrote our Constitution, they were very, very concerned about the use of the power of war and so they delegated that not to the President, but to Congress

That role of occupational health and safety, that kind of theme in your professional work, and the fact that you have worked to inform decisionmakers and stakeholders on chemical exposure and safety issues, seems directly related to the…

So your experience certainly is directly relevant?

So your background is very relevant to the work of this Board?

I would commit to, if I am confirmed to the Chemical Safety Board, to gather all of the data and be transparent, and exhibit the highest level of integrity.

As I indicated in my opening statement, I have had a lot of experience in providing transparency to information.

Earlier this year, Senator Klobuchar and I wrote to the Biden Administration, calling on them to fill these vacancies as a significant priority in protecting Americans.

I would like to ask unanimous consent to submit for the record a number of reports and articles related to today's hearing.

I certainly think about how many of these accidents can affect the community.