Political Quotes

“Madam President, last month I stood here to express my serious concerns about the nomination of Scott Pruitt to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As the vote draws closer, I want to reiterate those concerns and give voice to the thousands of individuals and groups in Oregon who have sent letters and made calls and spoken up in my town hall meetings. Oregonians have expressed their fears that Pruitt will steer us into a ditch when it comes to protecting the environment and public health. I share their concerns, and I cannot support this nomination. In my view, the importance of the EPA cannot be overstated. The EPA is at the heart of maintaining clean air and clean water for every person in this country, but Mr. Pruitt has made a career of denying climate science, attempting to weaken or even get rid of worker protections, air quality standards for toxic air pollutants, and basic environmental standards. Those rollbacks would hurt us all. One prime example of how the EPA has stepped in to protect Oregonians is during a recent air quality scare in Portland. In 2015, researchers with the U.S. Forest Service discovered that heavy metals including cadmium and arsenic had been emitted for decades into the air of Portland neighborhoods and schoolyards at dangerous levels. I called on the EPA to take action, and within days they were on the ground in Portland, testing the air quality and helping our community wrap our heads around the public health risks.…”