[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E282-E283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2011

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                               speech of

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 16, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense and the other 
     departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes:

  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Chair, I rise to express my opposition and urge my 
colleagues to oppose

[[Page E283]]

Amendment 338, which would zero out funding for the Diesel Emissions 
Reduction Act, also known as ``DERA.''
  Studies have shown that diesel emissions are one of the most 
significant threats to public health. In order to address this problem 
in a manner that is both responsible to businesses reliant upon diesel 
engines, and to protect the general public from further exposure to the 
damaging emission from diesel engines, Congress enacted DERA.
  This voluntary program provided federal and state grant funding to 
retrofit diesel engines to reduce emissions. It has been endorsed by 
over 500 public health, environmental and industry supporters, 
including the American Lung Association, Caterpillar, and the U.S. 
Chamber of Commerce.
  Retrofitting provides enormous environmental, and therefore health, 
benefits, but before this program was implemented, there was little 
economic benefit for vehicle and equipment owners to do so. It is 
estimated that DERA could reduce particulate matter emissions by 70,000 
tons, generate nearly $20 billion in economic benefit, and return $13 
of benefit for every one dollar invested.
  The incentives provided by DERA support voluntary rather than 
regulatory efforts to assist states meet air quality standards. Zeroing 
out funding for this program would effectively kill those efforts. It 
would hamper the development and demand of ``clean diesel'' technology 
as well as put a further strain on those workers who manufacture, sell, 
repair, or retrofit diesel vehicles. This program has great support on 
both sides of the aisle and should not be eliminated here today.
  For those reasons I again urge my colleagues to vote against this 
amendment.

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