[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11734]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              CAP-AND-TAX

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, we are learning that the Environmental 
Protection Agency is poised to declare any body or company or plant 
that emits more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide as a major emitter. 
A body of 435 adults all endlessly emitting hot air certainly will meet 
that annual threshold.
  It appears that the EPA and Congress are literally in a race to see 
who can get there first. Are we going to tax the air we breathe, or are 
we going to regulate the air we breathe? If CO2 and other 
greenhouse gases are so dangerous to our environment, the American 
people truly must be puzzled by the actions of the body this week.
  While the details of a cap-and-tax system are negotiated behind 
closed doors, Congress has debated such staggeringly important work as 
supporting the goals of Public Service Recognition Week and National 
Train Day. If our environment were truly in serious peril that could 
only be effectively addressed by a cap-and-tax system, one would think 
we would be burning our carbon credits debating that bill, not the 
suspensions we have passed.

                          ____________________