U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

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BUSINESS MEETING 

MEETING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Chairman 

JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

ROGER WICKER, Mississippi 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota 

JONI ERNST, Iowa 

DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska 

RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, 

Ranking Member 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York 

CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey 

EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts 

TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois 

CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland 

RICHARD M. RUSSELL, Majority Staff Director 

MARY FRANCES REPKO, Minority Staff Director 

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C O N T E N T S 

Page 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming .......................... 1 

Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware ................... 2 

Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, U.S. Senator from the State of West Virginia ...... 3 

Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island ......... 5 

Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L., U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland ................ 6 

Rounds, Hon. Mike, U.S. Senator from the State of South Dakota .................... 12 

LEGISLATION AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 

Text of S. 1857, To establish a compliance deadline of May 15, 2023, for 

Step 2 emissions standards for new residential wood heaters, new residential hydronic heaters, and forced-air furnaces ................................................... 31 

Text of Carper Amendment #1, An amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 1857 that reduces the regulatory burden for residential 

wood heater retailers and manufacturers, codifies critical residential 

wood heater emission standards, and establishes a $75 million voluntary program to incentive the removal and replacement of old, inefficient wood heaters ........................................................................................ 33 

Text of S. 2461, To allow for judicial review of certain final rules relating 

to national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for brick and 

structural clay products or for clay ceramics manufacturing before requiring 

compliance with the rules by existing sources ................................................... 51 

Text of Whitehouse Amendment #1, An amendment to S. 2461, the 

BRICK Act, that would convey the sense of Congress that the EPA 

Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation should 

1) abide by all relevant standards of ethical conduct; 2) recuse himself 

from matters where his involvement would result in or create the 

appearance of a conflict or undermine public confidence in the EPA; 

and 3) provide a copy of his recusal letter to the Committee ................... 55 

Text of an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 2461 .................. 56 

Text of an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 2827, To amend 

the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation Act .............................. 58 

Text of an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 1934, To prevent 

catastrophic failure or shutdown of remote diesel power engines due to 

emission control devices, and for other purposes .............................................. 71 

Text of S. 593, To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act 

to facilitate the establishment of additional or expanded public target 

ranges in certain States ....................................................................................... 73 

Presidential Nomination 2347. Harold B. Parker, of New Hampshire, to be 

Federal Cochairperson of the Northern Border Regional Commission, vice 

Mark Scarano, resigned ....................................................................................... 81 

Committee Resolutions: 

Construction, Otay Mesa U.S. Land Port of Entry, San Diego, CA. PCABSC-SA18 ...................................................................................................... 82 

Lease, Department of the Treasury—Internal Revenue Service, Treasury 

Inspector General for Tax Administration, Denver, CO. PCO-01-DE18 .. 83 

Lease, Drug Enforcement Administration, Weston, FL. PFL-04-WE18 ...... 85 

Lease, Department of Defense—Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, 

CA. PCA-01-SA18 ......................................................................................... 87 

Page

IV 

Opinion: Mirrors and Smoke, Smoke and Mirrors, by John Crouch, 

biomassmagazine.com, September 14, 2018 ...................................................... 89 

Letter to Senators Barrasso, Carper, Capito, and Whitehouse from the 

Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, September 14, 2018 ........................... 91 

Industry Groups Support New BRICK Act to Extend EPA Emissions Regulations Timeline, ceramicindustry.com, March 28, 2018 ...................................... 98 

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BUSINESS MEETING 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in room 406, 

Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Barrasso (Chairman of 

the Committee) presiding. 

Present: Senators Barrasso, Carper, Inhofe, Capito, Boozman, 

Wicker, Fischer, Moran, Rounds, Ernst, Sullivan, Shelby, Cardin, 

Whitehouse, Merkley, Gillibrand, Booker, and Van Hollen. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING 

Senator BARRASSO. Good morning. I call this business meeting to 

order. 

Today we are going to consider six bills, four GSA resolutions, 

and one nomination. 

Senator Carper and I have agreed that we will begin voting at 

10:15. At that time, I will call up the items on the agenda, including amendments for votes. We will not debate the items on the 

agenda while we are voting. Instead, we will debate the items on 

the agenda before we begin voting at 10:15. 

I will also be very happy to recognize any member who still wishes to speak after the voting concludes. 

The items on today’s agenda include S. 1857, a bill to delay new 

source performance standards for wood and hydraulic heaters; S. 

2461, Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act of 

2018; S. 2827, a bill to amend the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. 

Udall Foundation Act; S. 1934, Alaska Remote Generator Reliability and Protection Act; S. 593, Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act; S. 1537, Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Act; then, as well, Presidential Nomination 2347, 

which is Harold B. Parker of New Hampshire to be Federal Cochairperson of the Northern Border Regional Commission; and four 

General Service Administration resolutions. 

Now, it appears several members are present and would like to 

speak. In order to maximize everyone’s time to debate the items on 

the agenda, I am going to defer any additional opening statements 

until other members have had the opportunity to speak. Members 

speak up until 10:15. 

I will submit my opening statements for the record. 

Senator Carper. 

2 

[The prepared statement of Senator Barrasso was not received at 

time of print.] 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE 

Senator CARPER. Thanks. 

I have some comments I would like to give on my Amendment 

No. 1, which addresses S. 1857, Senator Capito’s bill. Shelley and 

I were talking a little bit yesterday, and she indicated her staff 

hadn’t received our amendment until a couple days ago, which I 

was just unhappy about. As it turns out, I talked with them, and 

they said, let’s go back and look. Apparently, they said they met 

with your staff on July 25th, presented what we wanted to do on 

the 26th, and the actual language that came out tweaked it a little 

bit, but not too much. But the sum and substance of it was presented a couple months ago, which makes me feel better, because 

I don’t like to give somebody something at the last minute. I just 

wanted to mention that. 

I still remember my staff preparing me for last year’s November 

legislative hearing on S. 1857. They told me there are over 11 million homes using residential wood heaters today, most of which are 

inefficient and without proper emission control technology. Older 

wood heaters are inefficient, produce a deadly mix of particulate 

matter known as PM, volatile organic compounds, and air toxics. 

Pollution from these heaters is problematic in a number of 

States, including Alaska, Oregon, and Vermont, to name a few. 

I also learned that sometimes it is hard for homeowners to upgrade wood heaters on their own; they often need financial incentives to do so. 

Finally, I found out that the technology exists today to reduce 

the pollution from these wood heaters by up to 70 percent. That is 

seven-zero percent. That is when I stopped my staff, and I said to 

them, I think we have seen this movie before and know it pretty 

well. Back in 2005, I remember George Voinovich, our colleague, 

came to me with almost the very same situation—not about wood 

burning stoves, but about inefficient diesel engines. In 2005, 

George said, we have a great idea, the Diesel Emission Reduction 

Act, and he asked me to be his Democratic cosponsor, which I was 

pleased to do. 

But DERA, as you all recall, didn’t roll back emission standards 

for diesel engines. Instead, it created a program that incentivized 

the use of newer diesel technology. Together with Senator Inhofe 

and a couple of other colleagues, we went forth to establish one of 

the most successful clean air programs on the books. My statement 

here says one that is loved. I don’t know that it is loved, but it is 

warmly embraced by retailers, by manufacturers, by States, and 

health groups alike. 

My amendment today builds on what we know to be a successful 

formula. Instead of delaying standards that many in the industry 

are already meeting and States depend on for healthy air, the 

amendment I am offering today creates a 5-year, $75 million wood 

heater replacement program mirrored after our successful DERA 

program. 

3 

What I am calling the Wood Heater Emission Reduction Act, or 

WHERA, allows States, it allows Tribes, it allows territories, and 

regional and local air agencies to apply for EPA funding to create 

residential wood heater programs that work for their State. Because rural areas and tribal areas have a disproportionate need, we 

require at least 4 percent of WHERA to go toward Tribes and require EPA to ensure that rural areas are represented in funding 

allocations. 

The amendment doesn’t stop there, though. We heard during our 

hearing in November that retailers needed a little more time to get 

the older products off their shelves. Giving retailers some extra 

time is also beneficial to manufacturers. So, my amendment today 

gives retailers an extra year to sell these so called Step 1 residential wood heaters. Thus, it moves the deadline from May 20th, 

2020, to May 20th, 2021, which is almost 3 years from now. 

This amendment also gives wood heater manufacturers some 

flexibility in the testing program. 

Finally, my amendment codifies the manufacturers’ Step 2 emission standards, keeping public health gains and giving States and 

manufacturers something they like, and that is certainty. 

As we saw with DERA, delaying emission standards is not a recipe for success, so let’s adopt a formula that we know works for 

public health, for States, for American jobs. 

Mr. Chairman, I am going to be asking for a roll call vote on this 

amendment. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting it 

today. 

Thank you so much. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Carper follows:] 

STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE

Today, our Committee favorably reported S. 593, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, a bipartisan bill. Our Committee previously favorably reported a slightly different version of this legislation as part of S. 1514, the 

HELP for Wildlife Act. 

Ideally, our Committee would have considered and discussed those differences in 

a hearing. The stakeholder organizations that support the intended policy outcome 

support both versions. To date, no organizations have expressed public opposition 

to either version. 

That said, we may need to better reconcile these differences now that both bills— 

S. 593 and S. 1514—have advanced to the full Senate. I look forward to working 

with my colleagues to that end. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you, Senator Carper. 

Senator Capito. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA 

Senator CAPITO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I thank the Ranking Member. Thanks for the conversation yesterday. It seems we have a little dispute on when the final language actually reached our staffs, but we can debate about that 

later. 

Senator CARPER. I think the final language actually reached 

them a couple of days ago, but the sum and substance I think actually did come in July. 

4 

Senator CAPITO. Right. Concepts were there. Like I said, we can 

get into that off the dais. 

I just want to urge support for S. 1857 to provide regulatory relief to the wood and pellet stove heater and forced air furnace industry. This is a bipartisan bill that was introduced with Senators 

McCaskill, Shelby, and Manchin. It is very simple: it extends that 

deadline from 2020 to 2023. That extension is vital to the industry 

to be able to develop, engineer, test, manufacture, and distribute 

models that are compliant with Step 2 standards. It also provides 

that certainty to retailers that they can sell existing inventories 

through 2023 and to consumers. 

The industry has already met the Step 1 standards, which, according to the Obama’s EPA figures, achieved the vast majority— 

an estimated 90 percent or more—of the emissions reductions anticipated as part of the two-step regulation. Step 1 reduced emissions by 70 to 90 percent compared to the baseline. With Step 2, 

we are subject to the law of diminishing returns, with each reduction becoming costlier and more technologically difficult to achieve. 

With that said, the bill would only delay—not modify—would 

only delay the strict Step 2 standards to ensure they can be plausibly met on time. 

Members of this Committee have heard compelling testimony 

and received letters from industry that there is simply not enough 

time to fully engineer and certify. The certification part is very difficult in terms of certifying new products by the 2020 deadline. A 

3-year delay would help alleviate logjams at the labs doing their 

certification and the EPA itself to ensure that the new models actually do meet the standards. 

The Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, which I chair, 

heard testimony last November. It is September. Last November 

we had a legislative hearing to the effect that some manufacturers 

may only have one-third of their product lines in limited quantities 

available for sale to comply with 2020. 

At the time of our hearing, of the 540 wood and pellet stove models that are compliant under Step 1, only 26 of those would meet 

the standard under Step 2. Retailers will be making their orders 

well ahead of the effective due date and will have to deal with the 

regulatory uncertainty of what will be available, as well as what 

will become of existing inventory that may become obsolete and 

unsellable. 

The purchase of these appliances is seasonal, so units may be in 

the retailers’ inventory for years. The outcome may be that of the 

11.5 million homes using wood heaters as primary or secondary 

heating sources will continue to operate their older appliances, 

which is what we don’t want, many of them not even compliant 

with Step 1 for additional years while supplies increase and prices 

come down on Step 2 compliant units. 

We have already seen the rise in prices. A retailer in Prichard, 

West Virginia, had to double prices, from $1,000 to $2,000, for 

products compliant with Step 1 compared to previous revisions. In 

2015, this retailer sold 42 warm air furnaces. In 2016, Step 1 induced price increase, he sold 11. By late 2017, only 8. Which means 

people are not changing out their existing units. That means that, 

5 

and they are not buying the new units. The impact for jobs and 

consumers is clear. 

So, I would urge my colleagues to vote yes on S. 1857. 

If the Chairman would allow, we still have a few minutes, to talk 

about the amendment. 

Senator BARRASSO. Please. I know Senator Wicker wants to 

speak, as does Senator Whitehouse. Senator Whitehouse is first 

recognized, but go ahead. 

Senator CAPITO. I will go very quickly here on the Carper amendment that Senator Carper spoke about. 

We talked about the merits of it yesterday. Hopefully, we can arrive at some kind of compromise, but I don’t think it is meeting the 

standards of regular order, so I urge its defeat. It would establish the $75 million new regulatory program with 

no budget offset and has not been completely vetted by members 

of this Committee. It would provide funding for buy backs, as the 

Senator said. 

While it is well intentioned, it does not address the broader issue 

associated with Step 2, and instead, formalizes them into law. It 

does not address the fact that there will not be enough models approved, much less at an affordable cost, to meet consumers’ needs. 

A lot of the consumers that use it for their primary source are 

on the lower end of the economic scale, and that is a source of concern for me being from the State of West Virginia. 

So, I am opposing his amendment. I have other issues I could 

add here, but in the interest of the Committee I will cut that short 

and say that I hope we can work together, Senator Carper, to try 

to find a compromise here, but in the short term I would urge defeat of the Carper amendment. 

Thank you. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you, Senator Capito. I also will be opposing the Carper amendment and supporting your bill. 

Senator Whitehouse. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Thank you, Chairman. 

Mr. Chairman, the Associate Administrator for the Office of Air 

and Radiation at the Environmental Protection Agency, as we 

know, is a gentleman named Bill Wehrum. He was confirmed by 

the U.S. Senate on November 9th, 2017. He promised to document 

his compliance with his EPA ethics agreement within 90 days of 

his confirmation. That 90 days ran on February 14th, 2018. 

Since that date, I have been trying to get his ethics statement, 

without success, in letter after letter, so I filed Whitehouse 1 as an 

amendment to S. 2461 to require recusal of this individual in matters where there would be the appearance of a conflict or undermining of public confidence in the EPA and requiring, as a matter 

of law, to provide a copy of his recusal letter to the Committee. 

Well, lordy be, as of now, we have his recusal letter. It was not 

signed on February 14th, 2018; it was signed yesterday. So, we at 

least have it. Further inquiry to follow as to what the hell happened between February 14th, 2018, and September 17th, 2018, 

during which this individual, who is a walking conflict of interest, 

6 

appeared to be operating under no conflict of interest or recusal 

statement. 

On the basis of that, I would first ask unanimous consent to put 

his recusal statement into the record. 

Senator BARRASSO. Without objection. 

[The referenced information was not received at time of print.] 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. And second, ask consent to withdraw my 

amendment. 

Senator BARRASSO. Without objection. 

Thank you, Senator Whitehouse. 

Senator Wicker. 

Senator WICKER. Well, I appreciate Senator Whitehouse withdrawing his amendment. That will simply give us an opportunity 

to vote yes or no on the underlying bill, which is a good bill, and 

it provides legislative and regulatory relief for the over 7,700 people who work in brick manufacturing plants and the almost 90,000 

Americans who are employed by the larger brick industry, not to 

mention all of the millions of construction jobs with brick based elements. 

So, I am glad to see the amendment has been withdrawn, and 

I urge my colleagues to vote yes for the underlying bill, which is 

bipartisan, having sponsors such as Inhofe and Capito from this 

Committee and Donnelly, Heitkamp, and Manchin who are not on 

this Committee. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you, Senator Wicker. 

Senator Sullivan. 

Senator SULLIVAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I want to also thank Senator Whitehouse for withdrawing his 

amendment, but also for his dogged determination to get members 

of the executive branch to do what they said they were going to do. 

If they told us they were going to file a recusal statement, and they 

haven’t done it, then I think it is good oversight on his part to get 

them to do that, so appreciate the hard work of a former attorney 

general. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Said the former attorney general. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator BARRASSO. Senator Cardin, I know you also have a bill, 

the Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Act. Anything 

you would like to add at this point? 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND 

Senator CARDIN. Just thank the Chairman and Ranking Member 

for including this on the markup today. It is a very important bill 

that deals with our international efforts, the U.S. participating in 

neotropical birds. 

You have all heard me talk about this before. About 200 species 

are involved in the protection of habitat in our region to make sure 

that we, with other countries, do what is necessary and reasonable 

to protect their habitat. One of those neotropical birds is the Baltimore Oriole. For those of you who are following the baseball season, you know we need to pass this immediately. 

[Laughter.] 

7 

Senator BARRASSO. We are waiting for one more member of the 

Committee to arrive. 

Senator CARPER. Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Yes, Senator Carper. 

Senator CARPER. Could I just have one last quick thing? Somebody asked me from the press yesterday, he said, why do you care 

about this wood burning stove legislation? 

I will just say this; in Delaware alone we have a number of wood 

heaters, and you have them in your States, too. We are not the 

leader by any stretch of the imagination, but wood heaters in my 

State are the second largest source of particulate matter pollution—second largest source of particulate matter pollution. If you 

add together all the PM that we get from on-highway vehicles, electric utilities, petroleum industry combined, the particulate matter 

that comes from wood burning stoves in my State is more than all 

those three combined. All those three combined. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you, Senator Carper. 

We are waiting for one more member to arrive. I understand he 

is on the way. 

Senator INHOFE. He is on the 14th Street Bridge. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator BARRASSO. The Ranking Member and I have agreed to 

bring up two bills for separate votes. The Ranking Member has requested that each of these two receive a roll call vote. The Ranking 

Member and I have agreed to vote on the remaining four bills, the 

nomination, and the GSA resolutions en bloc by voice vote. Members may choose to have their votes recorded after the voice vote. 

So, I would like to bring up for call the en bloc passage of the 

items, the Barrasso substitute amendment to S. 2827, a bill to 

amend the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation Act; 

the Sullivan-Carper substitute amendment to S. 1934, Alaska Remote Generator Reliability and Protection Act; S. 593, Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act; S. 1537, Migratory 

Birds of the Americas Conservation Act; Presidential Nomination 

2347, Harold B. Parker of New Hampshire to be Federal Cochairperson of the Northern Border Regional Commission; and four General Service Administration resolutions en bloc. 

I move to approve the Barrasso substitute amendment to S. 2827 

and report S. 2827 as amended, approve the Sullivan-Carper substitute amendment to S. 1934 and report S. 1934 as amended, approve and report S. 593 and S. 1537 and Presidential Nomination 

2347, and approve four GSA resolutions en bloc. 

Is there a second? 

Senator CARPER. Second. 

Senator BARRASSO. All those in favor say aye. 

[Chorus of ayes.] 

Senator BARRASSO. Opposed, nay. 

[No audible response.] 

Senator BARRASSO. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. 

We have approved S. 2827, as amended; S. 1934, as amended; S. 

593; S. 1537; and Presidential Nomination 2347, which will be reported favorably to the Senate. We have also approved four GSA 

resolutions. 

8 

Now I would like to call up S. 1857, a bill to delay new source 

performance standards for wood and hydraulic heaters that was 

circulated last Friday. Senator Carper has filed an amendment to 

S. 1857. 

You are going to offer your amendment, and then we will have 

a roll call. 

Senator CARPER. I offer the amendment. We have discussed it, 

and I would ask for a yes vote. 

Thanks so much. 

Senator BARRASSO. Members have already had an opportunity to 

speak on Carper No. 1 this morning. Additional members may 

speak, if they would like, after voting concludes. 

Move to vote on the amendment. Is there a second? 

Senator CARPER. Second. 

Senator BARRASSO. The Clerk will call the roll. 

The CLERK. Mr. Booker. 

Senator BOOKER. No. Oh, yes. 

Senator CARPER. Thank you. 

The CLERK. Mr. Boozman. 

Senator BOOZMAN. No. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Capito. 

Senator CAPITO. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Cardin. 

Senator CARDIN. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Carper. 

Senator CARPER. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Duckworth. 

Senator CARPER. Aye, by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Ernst. 

Senator ERNST. No. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Fischer. 

Senator FISCHER. No. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Gillibrand. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Inhofe. 

Senator INHOFE. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Markey. 

Senator CARPER. Aye, by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Merkley. 

Senator MERKLEY. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Moran. 

Senator MORAN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Rounds. 

Senator ROUNDS. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Sanders. 

Senator CARPER. Aye, by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Shelby. 

Senator SHELBY. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Sullivan. 

Senator SULLIVAN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Van Hollen. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Whitehouse. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Aye. 

9 

The CLERK. Mr. Wicker. 

Senator WICKER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. No. 

The Clerk will report. 

The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, the nays are 11; the yeas are 10. 

Senator BARRASSO. The yeas are 10; nays are 11. Carper No. 1 

is not agreed to. 

Now move to approve and report S. 1857 favorably to the Senate. 

Is there a second? 

Senator INHOFE. Second. 

Senator BARRASSO. The Clerk will call the roll. 

The CLERK. Mr. Booker. 

Senator BOOKER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Boozman. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Capito. 

Senator CAPITO. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Cardin. 

Senator CARDIN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Carper. 

Senator CARPER. No. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Duckworth. 

Senator CARPER. No, by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Ernst. 

Senator ERNST. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Fischer. 

Senator FISCHER. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Gillibrand. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Inhofe. 

Senator INHOFE. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Markey. 

Senator CARPER. No, by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Merkley. 

Senator MERKLEY. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Moran. 

Senator MORAN. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Rounds. 

Senator ROUNDS. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Sanders. 

Senator CARPER. No, by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Shelby. 

Senator SHELBY. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Sullivan. 

Senator SULLIVAN. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Van Hollen. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Whitehouse. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Wicker. 

Senator WICKER. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Aye. 

10 

The Clerk will report. 

The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, the yeas are 10; the nays are 11. 

Senator BARRASSO. This does pass. 

The ayes were 11? 

The CLERK. The yeas are 11; the nays were 10. 

Senator BARRASSO. So, the motion, Senator Capito’s bill, has 

passed. 

Next, I would like to call up S. 2461, the Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act, the BRICK Act. It was circulated 

last Friday. An amendment has been withdrawn. 

I move to approve and report S. 2461 favorably to the Senate. Is 

there a second? 

Senator WICKER. Second. 

Senator BARRASSO. The Clerk will call the roll. 

The CLERK. Mr. Booker. 

Senator BOOKER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Boozman. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Capito. 

Senator CAPITO. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Cardin. 

Senator CARDIN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Carper. 

Senator CARPER. No. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Duckworth. 

Senator CARPER. No, by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Ernst. 

Senator ERNST. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Fischer. 

Senator FISCHER. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Gillibrand. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Inhofe. 

Senator INHOFE. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Markey. 

Senator CARPER. No, by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Merkley. 

Senator MERKLEY. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Moran. 

Senator MORAN. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Rounds. 

Senator ROUNDS. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Sanders. 

Senator CARPER. No, by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Shelby. 

Senator SHELBY. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Sullivan. 

Senator SULLIVAN. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Van Hollen. 

Senator VAN HOLLEN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Whitehouse. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Wicker. 

Senator WICKER. Aye. 

11 

The CLERK. Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Aye. 

The Clerk will report. 

The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, the yeas are 11; the nays are 10. 

Senator BARRASSO. The yeas are 11; the nays are 10. We have 

approved S. 2461, which will be reported favorably to the Senate. 

The voting part of this business meeting is finished. I would be 

happy to recognize any members who wish to make a statement on 

the legislation, the nomination, or the resolutions that we have just 

approved. 

Would any member like to be recognized? If not—yes, sir, Senator Carper. 

Senator CARPER. Mr. Chairman, I want to take just a couple 

minutes, now that we have marked up today, to discuss some of 

the things that my Democratic colleagues and I sought to amend. 

As someone who always tries to look for the positive, we have a lot 

here that we have agreed on, and I am happy about that. 

I was happy to see that we could come to a compromise on Senator Sullivan’s Alaska diesel bill. I think we addressed a real tactical issue for remote areas of Alaska, while also trying to find 

ways we can better improve energy reliability and air quality for 

those areas. I thank Senator Sullivan and want to thank the Chairman and their staffs for working with our staff on this issue. I 

think it is a good compromise. 

Additionally, I have advanced legislation to reauthorize the 

Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act today, and I want to 

thank Senator Cardin for his leadership on this issue. I feel bad 

about the Orioles but good about his legislation. Neotropical migratory birds are special to both of our States; in fact, to many States. 

People travel to the First State of Delaware to observe the red 

knots, which benefit from the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. 

Further, we have considered Senator Capito’s Target Practice 

and Marksmanship Training Support Act. This legislation enjoys 

bipartisan support. It is endorsed by the sportsman community as 

well. 

I am also pleased that we were able to add the Udall Foundation 

reauthorization bill to our agenda today. It was last updated in 

2004, but this reauthorization provides needed updates to the 

Foundation. One of the changes included in the substitute amendment would be to rename the U.S. Institute for Environmental 

Conflict Resolution in honor of our friend, the late Senator John 

McCain, which I believe is a great tribute. On behalf of all of our 

colleagues, I thank the Chairman for including this provision. 

We also considered today the nomination of Harold Parker to be 

the Federal Cochair of the Northern Border Regional Commission. 

We heard from the nominee at a Transportation and Infrastructure 

Subcommittee hearing 2 weeks ago. I am pleased to support his 

nomination. 

I mentioned this before, but it bears worth repeating. Old, inefficient residential wood heaters produce the heat that a lot of families need, but they also produce a deadly mix of air pollution that 

can trigger asthma attacks, cause lung damage, and create real 

problems for air quality. I mentioned this before. 

12 

I was stunned when I saw this. In Delaware alone, residential 

wood heaters are the second largest source of particulate matter 

pollution, second largest source, contributing more than on-highway vehicles plus electric utilities and petroleum industries combined. Think about that. Think about that. 

A 3-year delay in the standards that manufacturers are already 

meeting today just doesn’t make sense to me, and I think we can 

do better. I presented another option in Carper Amendment No. 1. 

Without these changes, I could not support Senator Capito’s bill. 

Second, we have Senator Wicker’s bill, the BRICK Act, S. 2461. 

This legislation delays air toxic Clean Air Act standards for the 

brick industry by 2 years. These are standards that should have 

been in place almost two decades ago, and EPA has already stated 

they are going to give the industry an extra year to comply. I have 

concerns about the public health implications of delaying standards 

even further, which is why I voted no on that bill. 

But Mr. Chairman, as you know, I am always pleased to work 

together with you and our colleagues whenever we can do so. As 

a result, we have made progress on a number of different fronts 

today. My thanks to everyone—our members and staffs alike— 

whose efforts helped make all that progress possible. 

On the other issues on which we disagree, we live to fight another day, or maybe to find consensus. We will see. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you, Senator Carper. 

I do ask unanimous consent that the staff have authority to 

make technical and conforming changes to each of the matters approved today. 

Senator Rounds. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE ROUNDS, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Senator ROUNDS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Chairman, we have a pending nominee, Mr. Peter Wright, 

for Assistant Administrator of the EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. As you know, I chair the Environment and 

Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, 

and Regulatory Oversight. 

In December 2017, we held a hearing on the challenges facing 

Superfund sites following natural disasters such as hurricanes. 

One of those challenges should not be a lack of personnel on hand 

to mitigate environmental damage. Yet even as we deal with the 

aftermath of Hurricane Florence, the Assistant Administrator of 

the EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management, Peter 

Wright, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. 

Now, I understand that by my request I am not asking that we 

swiftly confirm him, but I would ask that we perhaps take up this 

matter in a more expeditious manner and confirm Mr. Wright so 

that our Federal Government can more effectively deal with the environmental impacts of natural disasters. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you, Senator Rounds. I would like to 

agree. When you take a look at North Carolina, South Carolina, 

the catastrophic flooding over the last several days, Hurricane Florence has taken a tremendous toll in terms of human lives, as well 

as billions of dollars in damage. 

13 

In the midst of this suffering, the EPA has been without this Assistant Administrator for Land and Emergency Management, the 

Subcommittee which you chair. This is the official who is in charge 

of EPA’s response to inland oil spills, chemical, biological, radiological releases, national emergencies, including hurricanes. 

The President nominated Peter Wright March 6th of this year, 

so it has been 195 days. He was cleared from this Committee, certainly, but the Senate Democrats have blocked the nomination. In 

fact, he has had to wait longer than any of his predecessors in the 

last 20 years. 

So, I agree it is time for the Democrats in the Senate to move 

and stop the blockage so we can get confirmation of Mr. Wright as 

soon as possible. 

If there are no other Senators who wish to speak? 

Senator CARPER. I have a couple of unanimous consent requests, 

Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Senator Carper. 

Senator CARPER. I want to ask unanimous consent to submit for 

the record a letter from environmental groups that are opposed to 

Senator Wicker’s S. 2461, which would extend the compliance date 

for air toxic standards for the brick industry. That would be one 

UC request. 

Senator BARRASSO. Without objection. 

[The referenced information follows:] 

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Senator CARPER. A second UC request, I would like to ask unanimous consent to submit for the record letters from 23 environmental health and State agency groups that are opposed to Senator 

Capito’s wood heater legislation, S. 1857. 

Senator BARRASSO. Without objection. 

[The referenced information follows:] 

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Senator CARPER. And one more. I ask unanimous consent to 

enter into the record supplemental materials regarding the legislation we have advanced today. 

Senator BARRASSO. Without objection. 

Senator CARPER. Thank you so much. 

[The referenced information follows:] 

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Senator BARRASSO. In closing, I am going to enter into the record 

a letter of support of S. 1857 from the Hearth and Home Technologies. By giving the industry a compliance extension, the letter 

says, S. 1857 would provide critical relief. 

[The referenced information follows:] 

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Senator BARRASSO. With that, our business meeting is concluded, 

and we are adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:33 a.m. the Committee was adjourned.] 

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Æ 


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