[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 192 (Thursday, December 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E3028-E3029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  WALTONVILLE COAL GASIFICATION PLANT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 16, 2009

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my opposition to 
the encroachment of federal authority into matters of the state and the 
continued appeasement of environmental special interests over the well-
being of the American people.
  Several weeks ago, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency 
permitted the construction of a new coal gasification plant near 
Waltonville, IL. An appeal was filed to prevent construction with the 
U.S. EPA based on their ``finding that carbon dioxide and other 
greenhouse gases represent a significant threat to public health and 
welfare.''
  Burdensome regulations levied on unsubstantiated science will destroy 
jobs. Coal gasification, the production of coal gas to convert

[[Page E3029]]

into liquid gasoline, is a real solution to rising energy prices and it 
creates jobs here in the United States.
  Taking drastic precautionary steps like those suggested by the EPA 
will have profound consequences on workers in Southern Illinois and all 
people throughout the country. Government action to reduce greenhouse 
gas emissions is not without a heavy cost. It is irresponsible for a 
group of unelected bureaucrats at the EPA to make significant policy 
decisions that will restrain and prevent job creation based on unproven 
science. The EPA's response to their endangerment findings will more 
certainly endanger the economic well-being of Americans than fulfill 
the Obama Administration's promise of reducing carbon emissions or 
lowering global temperature.

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