[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 16, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H8224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           AMERICA DESERVES STRAIGHT TALK ON THE ENVIRONMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, this administration is well known for 
spinning the truth, a very polite term for a lamentable practice. For 
example, over two-thirds of the American public think that Saddam 
Hussein and the Iraqis have some linkage to the attack of September 11, 
when, 2 years after the fact, there remains no evidence, despite the 
efforts of the administration to rhetorically connect these events.
  The administration's habit of using misleading language is at its 
worst with the environment. Their Clear Skies Initiative will actually 
permit dirtier air. Relaxation of the New Source Review rules will 
inhibit the intent of the Clean Air Act, which 30 years ago gave a 
reprieve to the dirtiest coal fired plants, a reasonable time to come 
into compliance. The New Source Review rules were designed so that when 
plants modernize, new anti pollution technology must be put in place. 
Instead, the agencies have kept these aging dinosaurs in use because, 
simply, they make more money.
  Rather than enforcing the Clean Air Act as previous administrations 
have done to encourage the industry, President Bush now proposes that 
these old plants continue to be grandfathered permanently. Changes to 
the New Source Rules announced last month will allow plants to make a 
20 percent investment each year without triggering the New Source Rule. 
There is no reason for them to ever come into full compliance.
  Because of the prevailing winds, the pollution is not just in the 
vicinity of the plant or in that State that allows it to operate. The 
effects are concentrated, particularly in the New England States. And 
attorneys general in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, as well as 
some midwest States like Wisconsin and Illinois are lining up to 
challenge this rule in court.
  Yesterday, the President was in Michigan to promote his Clear Skies 
Initiative; but he had the audacity to appear at one of the Nation's 
dirtiest power plants in Monroe, which is responsible, we are told, for 
approximately 300 premature deaths each year.
  The Detroit Free Press points out that the mercury emissions at that 
plant have gone up over the course of the last 2 years, and this Clear 
Skies Initiative will allow more mercury emissions than simply 
enforcing the current law.
  The President attempted to paint to this as a jobs-creation issue; 
but local labor leaders pointed out that when the Monroe plant owner, 
Detroit Edison, found out that the New Source Review rules were going 
to be relaxed, they promptly stop their efforts to install pollution 
controls required by law and fired 800 union workers who had been 
installing them. Lost jobs, dirtier air, health problems for thousands.
  The pending energy bill should be an opportunity to rectify these 
problems with cleaner air, reducing the dependence on foreign oil and 
maybe even protecting the power grid recently proven vulnerable. 
Instead, we currently have a grab bag of incentives for special 
interests that shortchanges efficiency, continues reliance on expensive 
imported foreign oil, and delays the day of reckoning for electrical 
power to clean the air and a more fuel-efficient auto industry.
  It is not too late for the administration and the Congress to deal 
meaningfully with two or three of these items that would actually help 
the American public. It is not just protecting the environment and the 
health of our citizens; it is a matter of long-term economic stability 
and security at a time when we have almost 140,000 American troops in 
and around Iraq in no small measure to secure Middle East oil.
  The Bush administration should be straight with the American public 
about the economic, environmental, and security consequences. Rather 
than a misleading photo-op, we should work for the meaningful 
environmental progress that America deserves.

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