[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 129 (Friday, September 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 VOTE NO ON H.R. 3409, THE REPUBLICAN ANTI-HEALTH ANTI-ENVIRONMENT BILL

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                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 21, 2012

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I've got to hand it to my Republican 
colleagues. When they commit to something, they really commit. This 
Republican House has the worst environmental record in Congress's 
history. We've taken over 300 votes against the environment. And here 
we are again. On our last day to get any real work done, Republicans 
are voting to kill the environment.
  Instead of dealing with important issues like taxes or jobs, 
Republicans are actually trying to repeal auto emissions standards that 
will save Americans $1 per gallon at the pump--standards the auto 
industry wants and that consumers are happy with.
  Instead of helping Americans find jobs, or helping the millions of 
homeowners facing foreclosure, Republicans are gutting clean air and 
clean water standards.
  Instead of doing something to actually help America be a healthier 
place to live and work, Republicans are doing everything in their power 
to spoil it.
   My Republican colleagues are saying regulations are killing the coal 
industry. The truth is that coal isn't selling in America--it just 
can't compete with cleaner, cheaper natural gas. The free market that 
my Republican colleagues worship is working. And the coal industry 
knows it.
  Since coal is being beat here in the U.S. market by cleaner, 
healthier forms for energy, the coal industry has put plans in motion 
to ship our American coal to China. The industry will make millions in 
profits selling our coal, mined from our public lands, to go overseas. 
Trains full of coal will obstruct commerce, especially in the 
northwest, and endanger public health, all at the expense of the 
American taxpayer.
  Make no mistake, today's bill isn't about saving the coal industry. 
The coal industry is doing that already, they're finding other markets. 
This bill is nothing more than a political ploy that puts industry and 
ideology over less expensive energy, public health, and our 
environment, and I urge my colleagues to vote no on this bill.

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