[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 16, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN OPPOSITION TO STEARNS AMENDMENT (#10) TO H.R. 1

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE QUIGLEY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 16, 2011

  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment 
offered by Mr. Stearns, an amendment which seeks to hamstring the EPA's 
ability to do its job.
  A job which Congress determined was the responsibility of the EPA.
  A job which the Supreme Court ruled was the responsibility of the 
EPA.
  And, a job, which is necessary to save thousands of lives, and 
millions in healthcare costs.
  Contrary to what some of my colleagues have been saying on the House 
floor, Americans support the mission of the EPA.
  Americans also support the tenets of the Clean Air Act.
  Recently, polls have been conducted in Congressional districts across 
the country, in districts that are home to coal and power plants, that 
are in the heart of steel towns and industry.
  When questioned, 60 and 70 percent of people in these districts 
answered with a resounding, ``yes, the EPA can and should do more to 
hold polluters accountable and to protect our land, air and water.''
  Those same folks did not support Congress deciding how those rules 
should be promulgated, as this amendment strives to do.
  There's a reason that rules are written by agencies--they've got the 
resources, and the knowledge, to write regulations that will do what's 
best for American citizens and communities.
  Our job is to support these rules.
  I stand here in support of the EPA, the EPA's ability to regulate 
coal combustion wastes and against the proposed amendment.
  Our lives depend on it.

                          ____________________