Joe Barton: “I do not want to belabor the debate. Let me just in summary, before the gentlewoman closes, point out that while the…”

“I do not want to belabor the debate. Let me just in summary, before the gentlewoman closes, point out that while the gentlewoman is from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I am also, this is not a local Dallas-Fort Worth issue. These court cases were brought in three different circuit courts, one of which is the District of Columbia here in Washington, D.C., the 5th circuit and the 7th circuit. So this is a national issue. Regions that are affected immediately by these court cases do include the Beaumont-Port Arthur area, Dallas-Fort Worth area. So there are two areas in Texas but we also have St. Louis, Missouri; Atlanta, Georgia; Washington, D.C.; greater Connecticut; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Those are the cases that we know of, the State implementation plans that were pending that have been stayed by these are affected by these court rulings. So this is not just a Texas issue or just a Dallas-Fort Worth issue. This is a national issue. The second thing that I would point out is that we are not affecting the standard, the national standard of 120 parts per billion, but let me say on that, when the gentlewoman from Dallas indicates that she has constituents that are affected by ozone and, as she called it, by the dirty area, so do I. I am slightly asthmatic. My son is, I would say, moderately to severely asthmatic. I have done a lot on the floor of this body to try to help asthmatics.”