[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 11, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H3668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NEW CLEAN AIR STANDARDS ARE MISGUIDED
(Mr. DOYLE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, EPA is moving forward with new clean air
standards that are, at best, misguided.
How can Administrator Browner say that we know all there is to know
about particulate matter when EPA has identified it as one of its six
high-priority research topics because of a high degree of uncertainty
about the size and composition of the particles that may be responsible
for adverse health effects.
Mr. Speaker, I have spent my whole life in Pittsburgh, and people
there value clean air as much as anyone. We have a State implementation
plan in place right now, and the air keeps getting cleaner. With new
standards, the air will not get cleaner, as new regulatory deadlines
will supersede existing ones.
With the stakeholder process, our community has come together to
examine how to meet our air quality needs. I would note that, after
participating in this rigorous process, the Western Pennsylvania
Chapter of the American Lung Association, despite threats from the
national organization, opposes the new standards.
If anyone at EPA believes that implementing these standards will not
have any economic impact, I invite them to walk with me in the Mon
Valley section of Pittsburgh and explain to those people where those
industries have gone.
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