'Clean Air Shouldn't Be Political': Maxine Dexter Blasts GOP Effort To Reverse Emissions Rule

During debate on the House floor, Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) tore into House Republicans' resolutions to block EPA and California rules.

Transcript

00:00Gentlewoman is recognized. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong opposition to

00:05these resolutions that strip away a state's right to protect its residents from dangerous air

00:12pollution. As a pulmonologist, a lung doctor, I've spent my career caring for people struggling to

00:19breathe, patients with asthma, COPD, and lung cancer. But I'm also a mother, deeply concerned

00:27about the world we are leaving our children. I came to Congress after years of treating the

00:34consequences of inaction. I could no longer stand by while politicians ignored the root cause,

00:41the pollution poisoning the air we breathe. The truth is, Madam Speaker, our air is making us sick,

00:48and we have the power and responsibility to do something about it. More than 156 million people

00:56in this country live in counties with dangerous levels of ozone and particulate matter. And yet,

01:02instead of empowering states to raise the bar on clean air, Republicans are telling them to stand

01:09down. Let me say this another way. Republicans are telling states they cannot take action to protect

01:15their people, their health, and their future. They want to prevent states who are at the forefront

01:21from using their authority to cut tailpipe pollution, a move that guts local authority in

01:26favor of polluters. We must let our communities lead. Repealing these waivers would undermine stronger

01:33vehicle emission standards that reduce dangerous pollution and are essential to fighting the climate

01:38crisis. Make no mistake. That would have immediate impact for our communities, for every family living

01:45near a busy highway, every child using an inhaler, and every senior who can't go outside on a high

01:52pollution day. This is a direct attack on over 50 years of precedent that recognizes that EPA has the

01:59authority and the obligation to allow states to do what is required to protect their residents.

02:05I'm frankly stunned that my Republican colleagues in the House want to undermine states' rights.

02:11Repealing these waivers are an illegal expansion of the use of CRAs,

02:15which the Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian have conclusively determined

02:21cannot be used for this purpose. This is government overreach at its most reckless. And it's a

02:28distraction, a deliberate one, from the fact that President Trump's agenda is failing to meet the needs of

02:34working families. It doesn't lower prescription costs, it doesn't fix our crumbling infrastructure,

02:40and it certainly doesn't improve the air our children breathe or the water they drink.

02:45At the end of the day, every American deserves the right to breathe clean air. Clean air shouldn't be

02:51political. Clean air shouldn't be anything but fundamental. To the people of Oregon, please know,

02:57I see these attacks for what they are. I hear your concerns and I will not stop fighting to protect you,

03:04your children, and your future. I will fight to ensure that science, not politics, guides how we

03:10safeguard our communities. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I yield back.