[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3974]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1550
                             DIRTY AIR ACT

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, we are some 11 weeks into a new Congress and 
still we have not seen a single bill focused on job creation from the 
other side of the aisle. What are they focused on? Allowing big 
polluters a free pass to pollute the air we breathe and poison the 
water we drink.
  In the pockets of Big Oil and Big Polluters, Republicans are 
advancing the Dirty Air Act, a radical bill that would undo over four 
decades of public health, scientific advancement, and pollution 
standards. The Dirty Air Act would ban EPA from exercising its role as 
the protector of our air and as the protector of our water.
  For decades, the Clean Air Act has protected children from asthma and 
seniors from emphysema, while reducing our dependence on foreign oil. 
It has created jobs, and we simply cannot undo it.
  My friends on the other side of the aisle should be focussed on 
America's priorities, that being job creation and economic growth. 
Instead, they remain committed to the deep pockets of the dirty energy 
industry.
  What is more important, public health for our children and seniors or 
lining the pockets of the oil industry? I think the choice is very 
clear. I rise today in support of the Clean Air Act.

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