[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 143 (Friday, September 23, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1703]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRANSPARENCY IN REGULATORY ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS ON THE NATION ACT OF 
                                  2011

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                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2401) to 
     require analyses of the cumulative and incremental impacts of 
     certain rules and actions of the Environmental Protection 
     Agency, and for other purposes:

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the TRAIN Act. This 
misguided legislation would undermine the Environmental Protection 
Agency's ability to enforce the Clean Air Act and significantly limit 
the federal government's ability to ensure that the air we breathe is 
safe and pollution-free.
  Some in the Majority have used the title of this legislation to refer 
to EPA's so-called regulatory train wreck. Well, the TRAIN Act amounts 
to a wrecking ball for public health protections.
  Sadly, the TRAIN Act is the latest in a long line of bills from the 
majority that puts big polluters before the health and safety of the 
American people. From the Dirty Air Act that would remove EPA's 
statutory authority to regulate carbon pollution to legislation that 
removes accountability for offshore drilling operations, the majority 
seems intent on rolling back programs that preserve our environment, 
protect our public health, and grow our economy.
  For forty years the Clean Air Act has been successful in protecting 
public health and preventing deaths from respiratory disease because it 
was written to follow science as science evolved. The success of the 
Clean Air Act is because its regulations are based in science. 
Legislators shouldn't pretend to be scientists.
  I urge my colleagues to vote no on this bill.

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