From Congresswoman Betty McCollum
On September 23, House Republicans passed a destructive bill called the TRAIN Act (H.R. 2401). This legislation institutes needless bureaucratic delays and stall tactics to permanently weaken EPA’s ability to uphold the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. The bill also orders EPA to indefinitely delay its rules to address cross-state air pollution and mercury emissions from power plants.
I had the privilege of offering the final amendment on behalf of the House Democratic Caucus, which would have ensured EPA could continue its work cleaning up toxic air pollution and water pollution under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. You can watch my floor speech here or read my comments here. To my disappointment, all 232 Republicans, including Representatives Chip Cravaack (MN-08), John Kline (MN-02), and Erik Paulsen (MN-03) voted against protecting the Great Lakes with Michele Bachmann (MN-06) not voting. This was just the first of many attempts House Republicans will be making in the coming weeks to undermine our nation’s landmark air and water quality laws.
When I returned home last week, I joined the leaders of Environment Minnesota, the American Lung Association and other clean-air leaders at a press conference at Children’s Hospital in St. Paul to call attention to the House Republicans’ “all-out assault” on air quality. You can read my complete remarks here.
Be assured I will continue fighting in Congress to safeguard the health of Minnesota families and protect a generation of hard-won progress for cleaner air.