Resolution of Disapproval of EPA Rule--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, my esteemed colleague from New York, I first thank our Chair, the Senator from California, who does a great job on all of these issues. I thank the Senator from Rhode Island for his, as usual, excellent and prescient words.

I join my colleagues in strong opposition to S.J. Res. 26. This is a joint resolution disapproving of the rules submitted by EPA which finds that greenhouse gases threaten the public health and our environment. This resolution, if enacted, would turn back the clock on years of scientific research that tells us greenhouse gases are damaging to our environment and our public health.

This resolution could not be coming at a more meaningful moment in our Nation's history. As we speak, thousands and thousands of barrels of oil continue to pour into the gulf, disrupting lives, posing enormous risk to our shorelines, and costing our economy billions of dollars. Now is certainly not the time to tie the Federal Government's hands when it comes to weaning our Nation off unclean fuels. Now would be the last time to allow business as usual for the oil companies who always, as the BP incident shows, prioritize profits over clean energy production and safety and pollution reduction.

The most enthusiastic supporters of this resolution we are debating today are BP, its fellow oil companies, and their lobbyists in Washington. Why should we let BP and their lobbyists take the driver's seat? Why should we allow them to tell us how to achieve energy independence, how to keep American people safe from greenhouse gases? They are certainly not good about telling us how to keep safe from oilspills.

We are witnessing firsthand what happens when industry is allowed to do what is best for industry. There are 37 million reasons why we cannot let this resolution pass today: 37 million barrels today have bled into the gulf on the industry's watch.

I urge my colleagues to put aside their ideological positions on government regulation and instead work together to rewrite energy policy in this country. We need to focus all of our efforts on a comprehensive solution to a complicated problem and pass legislation to jump-start clean energy, cap greenhouse gases, and improve our energy security. It is critical that we join together in a national commitment to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

We have come too far to reverse the tide on investment in American technology to reduce pollution and to produce cleaner energy. And we still have miles to go.

Even my colleagues who argue about the science of global warming agree that energy independence is also a national security issue. We send $1 billion a day overseas to buy foreign oil in large part from unstable and dangerous companies such as Iran, and unfriendly countries such as Venezuela. Our brave men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer significant casualties during the transportation of fuel and fuel-related supplies which are prime targets for our enemies.

Because we have failed to break this dangerous cycle of dependence, we are more reliant on foreign oil today than in the days after 9/11. We certainly can do better. This resolution is a step back.

We also all agree that America should have the cleanest air and the cleanest water of any place on Earth. We all know a cleaner America is a stronger America. Placing a cap on carbon emissions is the simplest way to achieve this collective goal while creating more U.S. jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. And, it works.

Two decades ago, President Bush implemented an air pollution cap as a way to address the problem of airborne sulfur dioxide, known as acid rain, greatly affecting my State. The Bush plan worked. Today it is considered one of the most effective environmental initiatives in U.S. history. Lakes in upstate New York, in the Adirondacks and elsewhere, that once were dead are now coming alive.

We are at a crossroads right now, and the decisions we make will have great impacts on our economy, our air quality, and our Nation's energy security. We can choose to deny the science and continue to pollute the air, fall behind in the energy race, and let big oil run roughshod over our economy and environment or we can say no.

Or we can learn the lessons from our past, carefully weigh the facts and forge a new clean energy future to put America back on the road to prosperity.

We need to put ideology aside and pass comprehensive energy reform this year. Majority Leader Reid has indicated that we will make an energy bill a top priority this summer. I look forward to working with my colleagues to do just that.

Once again, I want to voice my opposition to S.J. Res. 26 and urge my colleagues to vote against this attempt to undermine America's nearly 40-year effort to cut dangerous pollution, protect our air quality, and spur innovation.

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator has consumed 5 minutes.

Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source