On the recordOctober 5, 2011
The air contains mercury. The environment contains mercury from natural sources. The Communist Chinese, of course, are the world's largest polluter, and the plume of pollution from Communist China stretches all the way across the Pacific Ocean and covers up the Western and Central part of the United States. This map, which I hope you can see there, Madam Chairman, shows the Western and Central U.S. covered by a plume of red. These are mercury deposits coming from Communist China. The United States, through the Clean Air Act and with the efforts of industry and individuals across the Nation, has dramatically reduced pollution levels in the air and in the water. We are all committed to making sure that our kids are drinking clean water and breathing clean air. This amendment offered by the gentleman from Vermont is a simple statement that we find we're exposed to mercury. Congress might as well also issue a finding that we're exposed to carbon dioxide. I'm exposed to carbon dioxide right here. They're trying to make that a pollutant. What the Obama Democrats have done to crush jobs in the cement industry is an illustration of what Obama Democrats have done in their attempt to crush job creation all over the United States. In this EPA regulation on the cement industry, the Obama Democrats have set an impossibly high standard far beyond what even the European Union seeks.…
