[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 103 (Thursday, July 18, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S5768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          McCarthy Nomination

  I wish to turn to the reason I came to the floor, having just left 
that Armed Services Committee meeting, to speak on behalf of my very 
good friend Gina McCarthy.
  I worked with Gina McCarthy over a number of years when she was, in 
fact, not only a fellow State official--I was then State attorney 
general--but also a client because I was her lawyer. I came to know her 
in a way that I think is very rare for any public official to know 
another, seeing her in times of crisis and public policy opportunity, 
the ups and the downs of public service.
  I came to know her as a pragmatic person of consummate intelligence, 
integrity, an environmental protector for all seasons. She is not a 
partisan by any stretch of the imagination. There may be individuals 
who are more aggressive in the enforcement of environmental laws. There 
may be people who are more solicitous of economic progress and job 
creation, but I don't know. I certainly know no one who strikes the 
balance and seeks both goals of job creation, along with economic 
growth, and environmental protection with such zeal, passion, and great 
good humor.
  I said before on this floor and I will say it again, Gina McCarthy 
knows how to bring people together. She knows how to work for a common 
goal.
  We should seize this moment as a body to expand and enhance the 
bipartisan spirit of this past week and approve Gina McCarthy 
overwhelmingly because she epitomizes the kind of bipartisan spirit we 
should seek to grow and attract in our Federal Government, in fact, in 
all levels of government.
  Let me give a few examples. My colleague Senator Murphy spoke last 
night about a number of her specific accomplishments, but there are 
many more--maybe most important, which I don't think has been given 
enough attention on the floor, is her work in designing, building, and 
implementing the Northeast's pioneering cap-and-trade program, known as 
the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI. Nine States currently 
participate in RGGI: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It 
is a highly innovative program. It is a model for the Nation and the 
world.
  A 2012 report issued in 2012 estimates that RGGI investments will 
offset the need for more than 27 million megawatt hours of electricity 
generation and 26.7 British thermal units of energy generation. These 
savings will help avoid the emission of 12 million short tons of carbon 
dioxide pollution, an amount equivalent to taking 2 million passenger 
vehicles off the road for 1 year.
  The numbers not only fail to tell the whole story about the 
environmental impact but also fail to tell about Gina McCarthy's role 
in bringing together Republican and Democratic Governors for a common 
good, what she will do in this country for environmental protection and 
what she has already done in her role at the EPA.
  Under her guidance, the State of Connecticut settled a Clean Air Act 
suit against Ohio Edison on July 11, 2005, again requiring pollution 
reduction consistent with business needs and goals.
  She settled a citizen suit against American Electric Power on 
December 13, 2007, a dramatic reduction in nitrogen oxide and tons of 
sulfur dioxide. These Clean Air Act suits, which I assisted her in 
bringing to conclusion, I think embody her goal of reducing air 
contamination and pollution consistent with the business community's 
concern for its bottom line. She is sensitive to both.
  She is remarkable for her professionalism, for her zeal and passion 
as an environmental protector, and also for her willingness to listen, 
her willingness to hear and truly listen to people sitting across the 
table who may come into the room with different and sometimes 
conflicting views and come to a common conclusion. She knows how to get 
to yes, and she does it as a tough, fair, balanced environmental law 
enforcer.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in my enthusiasm because the 
President couldn't have picked a more qualified person. Gina McCarthy 
is as good as it gets in public service. She is as good as it gets for 
integrity, intellect, and dedication to the public good.
  It is my wish that we will move forward as united as possible, 
carrying forward the great bipartisan spirit that has characterized 
these last few days in our consideration of the President's nominees, 
which I hope will be enhanced and continue as we move forward today.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican whip.