Date: 2011-10-11
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. as I listened today. I listened to some enormously bipartisan commentary about jobs. As Mr. WAXMAN knows. our ranking member. we have been working on creating jobs for a very long time. Democrats are hoping for a vote in the other body on the Presidents American Jobs Act. In the last Congress. although we documented 3 million jobs. I can assure you that our stimulus package created millions of jobs unrecorded because it was emergency funding that did not require that recording. My amendment speaks to clarity. and it is not conflicting with jobs. For those of you who are listening to this debate. its about the industrial boiler industry. They do have jobs. And I. frankly. believe that the regulations that they have lived with do not impair their ability to promote jobs. What most people dont know is there is an indefinite language. or allows an indefinite time frame for noncompliance. Theres no time line for the industry to comply with clean air rules impacting our children. just like this little one being seen by a nurse. suffering from any number of respiratory illnesses. So the bill. in its current form. also gives the EPA discretion to go beyond 5 years. You know how long that is? That may be jobkilling time. because when businesses look to move to areas. even if theyre older industry. they want to know that there is an effort made to create a better quality of life. This amendment will help the industry. It indicates that the time for compliance is 3 years. And. yes. there may be discretion to expand. but 3 years. I believe this is a fair approach because. in actuality. the rule that the EPA has passed has resulted in 1.7 million tons of reduction in air pollution per year. Thats a good thing for job creation. And so this amendment is a simple approach to indicating that outdoor air pollution is damaging. Small particles and ground level ozone come from car exhaust. smoke. road dust. and factory emissions. Why wouldnt we want to improve the quality of life? I can only say to you that out of those polluting elements come chest pain. coughing. digestive problems. dizziness. fever. sneezing. shortness of breath. and a number of other ailments. So my amendment is a good thing. to be able to talk about jobs. clarity. knowing when you must comply. and preventing premature deaths and protecting our children. But let me say what else this bill does. This bill causes an extra $1 million in new discretionary spending by the EPA to comply. Were supposed to be in a budgettight atmosphere. Were supposed to be budget cutting. But. my friends. that is not what were doing here. So I would simply say that even though my good friend indicates that 200.000 jobs would be saved with this particular bill. I dont know where the documentation is. but I will assure you that areas where the boiler industry is that have a defined clarity on what the timeframe is for making sure that youre in compliance. I can assure you that that creates jobs. and that creates a clean atmosphere. quality of life. and clean air for more industry to come into your States for you to diversify. So I ask my colleagues to support a simple amendment that ensures that the compliance is for 3 years. clarifying that to the industry. giving them a time certain to comply. and also giving discretion to the EPA to help America grow jobs. I hope we all will join in growing jobs in voting for the American Jobs Act. and right now I hope that well vote for the Jackson Lee amendment that gives clarity in timeframe for compliance. and again. saves lives. like this little ones. that we all want to protect. With that. I yield back the balance of my time. and I ask my colleagues to vote for the amendment. Mr. Chair. I rise today in support of my amendment to H.R. 2250. the "EPA Regulatory Relief Act." My amendment requires the industrial boiler industry to comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules no later than 3 years after the rules have been finalized. Currently. the bill requires the industrial boiler industry to comply with EPA rules no earlier than five years after the rules have been finalized. The bill also allows indefinite noncompliance. there is no deadline set for industry compliance. The bill. in its current form. also gives the EPA the discretion to extend the 5 year deadline for compliance. The EPA would have the authority to extend a three year deadline as well. the three year deadline I proposed can be extended by the EPA. while setting a goal that shows our firm commitment to saving lives. I have offered this amendment to ensure that the EPA has the ability to reduce toxic emissions from numerous industrial sources. including the industrial boiler industry. as they are required to do under the Clean Air Act. The EPA has issued clean air rules targeting 170 different types of facilities which have resulted in a 1.7 million ton reduction in air pollution per year. EPA rules are now being finalized for both the industrial boiler industry and cement kiln industry and these bills are intended to indefinitely delay compliance with EPAs Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards. prior to their promulgation. As the Representative for Houston. the countrys energy capital. I am committed to creating an environment in which the energy industry and regulating agencies can work together. For more than 40 years the EPA has been charged with protecting our environment. There has been a consistent theme of chipping away at the ability of the EPA to protect our air. We have to consider the long term costs to public health if we fail to establish reasonable measures for clean air. Outdoor air pollution is caused by small particles and ground level ozone that comes from car exhaust. smoke. road dust and factory emissions. Outdoor air quality is also affected by pollen from plants. crops and weeds. Particle pollution can be high any time of year and are higher near busy roads and where people burn wood. When we inhale outdoor pollutants and pollen this can aggravate our lungs. and can lead us to developing the following conditions. chest pain. coughing. digestive problems. dizziness. fever. lethargy. sneezing. shortness of breath. throat irritation and watery eyes. Outdoor air pollution and pollen may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases. such as asthma. There are serious costs to our long term health. The EPA has promulgated rules and the public should be allowed to weigh in to determine if these rules are effective. The purpose of having so many checks and balances within the EPA is to ensure that the needs of industries and the needs of our communities are addressed. Providing a time for individuals to support or oppose any regulations is a meaningful first step. This bill is a step in the wrong direction. The EPA has spent years reviewing these standards before attempting to issue regulations. The proposed regulations to the industrial boiler industry will significantly reduce mercury and toxic air pollution from power plants and electric utilities. The EPA estimates that for every year this rule is not implemented. mercury and toxic air pollution will have a serious impact on public health. Think for a moment about the lives that can be saved. We are talking about thousands of health complications and deaths. What more do we need to know. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council. this rule would prevent the following: 9.000 premature deaths 5.500 heart attacks 58.000 asthma attacks 6.000 hospital and emergency room visits 6.000 cases of bronchitis 440.000 missed work days This legislation not only presents a threat to public health. it also blatantly violates the CutGo spending provision. The EPA Regulatory Relief Act requires the EPA to select a regulatory option that is least burdensome to the industrial boiler industry. regardless of alternate options that may be more feasible or cost effective. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that this bill will result in $1 million dollars in new discretionary spending by the EPA. and the bill does not offset the authorization. I understand the economic impacts of regulation. but we must also act responsibly. We cannot ignore the public health risks of breathing polluted air. nor can we pretend that these emissions do not exacerbate global warming. Alternatively. we certainly do not want to hinder job creation and economic growth. Congress passed the Clean Air Act to allow the EPA to ensure that all Americans had access to clean air. and we must not strip the agency of that right. My friends on the other side of the aisle will tell you that this Act is going to save more than 200.000 American jobs. but what about the lives we will lose? We do not want to hinder economic prosperity and robust job creation. but let us strive toward an economic climate where jobs can be created by implementing technology to reduce dangerous toxic emissions and protect the American people. It does not have to be one way or the other. in a country of vast innovation surely we can forge a path forward in which we do not have to choose between creating jobs and saving lives. Lest we forget. since 1999. Houston has exchanged titles with Los Angeles for the poorest air quality in the Nation. The poor air quality is attributed to the amount of aerosols. particles of carbon and sulfates in the air. The carcinogens found in the air have been known to cause cancer. particularly in children. The EPA is the very agency charged with issuing regulations that would address this serious problem. This bill may very well jeopardize the air that we breathe. the water that we drink. our public lands. and our public health by deep funding cuts in priority initiatives. Mr. Chair. there are times in which we are 50 individual states. and there are times when we exist as a single Nation with national need. One state did not defend the Nation after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. One state. on its own. did not end segregation and establish civil rights. Every so often. there comes an issue so vital we must unite beyond our districts. and beyond our states. and act as a Nation. and protecting the quality of our air is one of those times. I encourage my colleagues to support the Jackson Lee amendment in order to uphold the EPAs authority to enforce the Clean Air Act. By ensuring the industrial boiler industry must comply with finalized EPA regulations. we are protecting the quality of the air that all of our constituents breathe. Surely preventing illness and premature death by ensuring every American has access to clean air is not controversial. Again. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment.