Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend from New York, who is the cochair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and does such a superlative job. I rise to support him in opposing this legislative effort which argues overreach, but what it is really all about is making sure that the government does not protect the public, that we live in a Darwinian world where you apparently take your chances, whether it is asthma, other respiratory illnesses, cancer, and all kinds of other ailments that can affect communities that suffer from this pollution. We, as a country, can do better. We can create jobs, not lose them. The arguments on the other side have always been that the Clean Air Act costs jobs and raises costs, neither of which are true. We have gotten lots of experience since 1970 with the Clean Air Act. I can tell you that, in my home State of Virginia, electric costs came down. They didn't go up. Jobs got created, not lost. I end, Mr. Speaker, by reminding us of what His Holiness Pope Francis has argued. When Pope Francis came to the White House, before he spoke to this body, he personally thanked the President for these rules in protecting clean air. His first encyclical is on climate change, which he believes is one of the most important and imperative moral issues facing mankind today. That is what the Pope has to say about this subject. We ought to heed his words and his moral warning as we debate this subject. Mr.…”