[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 50 (Thursday, April 7, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E667-E668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ENERGY TAX PREVENTION ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. STEVEN R. ROTHMAN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 910) to 
     amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency from promulgating any 
     regulation concerning, taking action relating to, or taking 
     into consideration the emission of a greenhouse gas to 
     address climate change, and for other purposes:

  Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey. Mr. Chair, I rise today to voice my 
opposition to the Upton-Inhofe bill.
  Clean air should be a priority that we all can agree on, but some in 
Washington, D.C. are playing dangerous games with public health. Today, 
the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Upton-Inhofe bill, an 
extreme measure that will eliminate the Environmental Protection 
Agency's (EPA) authority to address carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous 
oxide, fluorinated gases and other harmful emissions. This legislation, 
which I opposed, reverses EPA's scientific finding that these 
pollutants are harmful to public health and the environment. The bill 
means that even with strong state-level environmental regulations New 
Jersey will suffer. Since the movement of air pollution isn't 
restricted by state borders, wind currents from neighboring states will 
push harmful pollution into the air that we breathe here at home.
  As a father and a strong advocate for the environment, I am proud of 
New Jersey's leadership in keeping our air clean. In New Jersey, we've 
implemented laws to reduce toxic emissions and mercury pollution from 
power plants, increase clean energy from solar power, and speed up 
production of off-shore wind along the Atlantic seaboard. These 
regulations improve the quality of the air we breathe, but we should 
still be doing more and New Jersey cannot do it alone. Federal 
regulation of dangerous pollutants is necessary to make sure that 
states with tough emissions standards aren't unfairly subject to dirty 
air from neighboring states that have lenient emission laws. Some in 
Washington, D.C. may want to secure an extreme ideological ``victory'' 
by undermining the EPA, but the families, children, and elderly in New 
Jersey cannot afford the consequences of the Upton-Inhofe bill.
  For many New Jerseyans, the impact of this bill could be deadly. For 
example, in the Ninth Congressional District--which includes sections 
of Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties--there are an estimated 80,000 
people, including nearly 20,000 children, who live with asthma. Lower 
air quality standards will lead to more pollutants in our air and raise 
the risk of life-threatening asthma attacks. In fact, the National 
Institute of Health estimates that

[[Page E668]]

5,000 asthma-related deaths occur each year in the United States. And 
those who suffer from asthma are just one group who will face drastic 
consequences from the Upton-Inhofe bill. Fully enforcing the Clean Air 
Act and a strong EPA will improve the lives of countless Americans 
(including New Jerseyans)--especially those who already have 
compromised health.
  The Upton-Inhofe bill is harmful to New Jersey and our entire nation. 
Specifically, this legislation would weaken the Clean Air Act, overturn 
the Supreme Court ruling that gave the EPA authority to regulate 
dangerous air pollutants, and derail efforts to move toward energy 
independence by reducing emissions from cars and trucks. It is for 
these reasons and many others that health advocacy and environmental 
groups--from the American Lung Association and the Union of Concerned 
Scientists to Environment New Jersey and the Asthma and Allergy 
Foundation of America--oppose this harmful legislation. In opposition 
to the Clean Air Act and the EPA, and supporting the Upton-Inhofe bill, 
are groups like big oil companies and billion-dollar corporations with 
vested interests in avoiding the costs of cleaning up the environmental 
messes they make. I and many of my constituents and people throughout 
our state choose to stand with those who want to keep New Jersey's air 
clean, not those who put profit over public health.
  There is a clear path forward to keeping our air clean in New Jersey. 
With the strengthening of the Clean Air Act in 1970, our country took a 
stand for the quality of our health, our air and our future. The EPA is 
planning to update the Clean Air Act to implement long-overdue federal 
limits on soot, smog, mercury, and carbon pollution. This solution 
makes sense--the Clean Air Act has proven to be one of the greatest 
tools we have to cost-effectively protect the health of Americans and 
our environment. We must stand up against efforts to weaken the Clean 
Air Act and work with the EPA to implement strong limits on pollution 
to protect the air we all breathe in New Jersey and throughout our 
country.

                          ____________________