On the recordFebruary 17, 2011
First, I want to say I rise in strong support of Judge Carter's amendment. It's absolutely necessary. Let me give you a few reasons why. First, I'm cochair of the Cement Caucus along with Congressman Mike Ross of Arkansas. My district is one, if not the top, cement-producing district in America. This is a critical industry to our infrastructure and certainly to the people of our country. Nationally, the cement industry employs about 17,000 Americans. We've lost more than 4,000 jobs in this industry since 2008. I am deeply concerned that EPA has failed to properly address the economic impact of this NESHAP rule. I'm extremely concerned about this for a variety of reasons. It seems to me in many respects this industry seems to be specifically under attack by the EPA. This rule is critically flawed. It cobbles together a range of different performance characteristics for different pollutants without determining if it is possible for any single cement plant to comply with all the standards simultaneously. Nobody has determined if anyone can comply with this rule. This means a lot to the people of my district. This rule is going to restrict our ability to remain competitive with foreign cement producers. Foreign imports currently make up about 20 percent of total U.S. cement sales. Most foreign operators basically are producers. They operate without anything close to the level of environmental standards currently in place in America.
