Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeGETTE. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Really? Really, Mr. Speaker?

With 1 week left in the legislative session, we've spent an entire day debating about a bill that does not address an existing problem; and with the continuing resolution expiring 1 week from tomorrow, we're not working on an appropriations bill to keep our government operating? We're not here today voting on an extenders bill that would extend the payroll tax cut for middle Americans just as the economy begins to recover?

Really?

We're not voting on extending unemployment benefits to help struggling families stay afloat while they continue to look for work?

Really, Mr. Speaker?

And once again, we're not doing one thing today to put Americans back to work?

Unfortunately, as ridiculous as today's effort has been, the consequences of the bill are no laughing matter. The truth is the EPA does not currently regulate farm dust. This bill would prevent a regulation that doesn't actually exist from overseeing something undefined.

Also, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said unequivocally that she does not intend to regulate farm dust in the future.

But to add insult to injury, the consequences of this proposed solution could be devastating. The bill that came out of the Energy and Commerce Committee could be interpreted broadly to limit existing and future Clean Air Act public health protections for different pollutants.

This final amendment that I offer today offers us the chance to protect our children and our grandchildren from asbestos, lead, cadmium, and other toxic air pollutants. I want to be clear: this is the final amendment to the bill; and even though I'd like to, it will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, it would then be voted on at final passage, as amended.

Now, Mr. Speaker, if we are going to adopt this bill, we should make sure that we don't inadvertently roll back EPA rules relating to toxic dust containing cadmium, lead, and asbestos. This should be something all of us can agree on. Currently, the bill exempts particulate matter from regulation under the Clean Air Act if it is natural material, commonly produced in rural areas, and is not produced by combustion.

Asbestos is a natural material. Activities involving asbestos are considered typical in rural areas, and asbestos emissions from mining and demolition do not involve combustion. Unfortunately, asbestos is also a known carcinogen.

What would happen if we exempted asbestos from the Clean Air Act?

We already know. To see the realities of asbestos, a natural material, we could simply ask the rural families of Libby, Montana.

In 2009 the Environmental Protection Agency declared a public health emergency in Libby after decades of asbestos exposure from local mines. Even though the vermiculite asbestos mine closed in 1990, the EPA believes that current conditions continue to present significant ongoing threats to public health. There remain significantly higher rates of asbestos-related disease in Libby compared with the national average.

Too bad the managers of the mine told their workers that the dust they inhaled daily was just ``nuisance dust'' and would have no permanent effects.

H.R. 1633 would also exempt lead and cadmium particulate emissions from the Clean Air Act. Because lead and cadmium are natural materials, activities involving lead and cadmium, such as cement kilns and smelters, are typical in rural areas; and activities at cement kilns and smelters produce lead and cadmium without combustion.

Sounds safe; right?

Unfortunately, cadmium is a known human carcinogen. Exposure to cadmium may cause lung, kidney, prostate, and bladder cancer.

Lead is a potent neurotoxin. Infants and young children are especially sensitive to even low levels of lead, which may contribute to behavioral problems like learning deficits and lower IQs.

Is that what this distinguished body really wants to do, actively take steps to cause behavioral problems, learning deficiencies and lower IQs in our Nation's rural children?

Mr. Speaker, this entire session of Congress has felt to many of us like a trip into Alice's Wonderland. While our Nation struggles with a devastating economy, we do nothing about jobs or about getting Americans back to work. Instead, we repeatedly fall down the rabbit hole of extreme legislation. Now, with this so-called Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, it seems that we're even having tea with the Cheshire Cat.

To paraphrase our friend, the Cheshire Cat: We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad. You must be mad or you wouldn't have come here.

Sadly, for the American people, H.R. 1633 simply underscores the madness of this body right now. It's a mad solution to an imaginary problem.

Vote ``no.''

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