Dingell: H.R. 2354 is a Republican Attempt to Sabotage Policies Protecting Health and Safety of Americans

Today, Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) submitted the following statement to the Congressional Record in opposition to H.R. 2354, the Energy and Water Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2012. This legislation passed the House by a vote of 219-196.

"Mr. Speaker, I rise in strident opposition to H.R. 2354, the Energy and Water Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2012. This unfortunate bill is just another in a long line of Republican attempts to sabotage policies put in place to protect the health and safety of Americans, as well as to improve the environment while at the same time fostering economic recovery. I categorically reject the Republicans' cynical and short-sighted approach to governing and urge my colleagues to follow suit by opposing this bill.

"I am not without justification in my criticism of H.R. 2354. To be clear, it contains a rider to block the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ability to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act, landmark legislation that I helped write and pass into law. The bill also blocks EPA's authority to oversee mountaintop removal coal mining, effectively allowing mountains to be carved away at corporate leisure. Finally, the bill would remove EPA's authority to make storm water programs more effective, which strikes me as curious given my Republicans' bent on making government leaner, meaner, and more effective. On a broader note, H.R. 2354 constitutes an attack on the integrity of the Clean Water Act, which has helped restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters. Just as this bill would allow coal companies to carve away mountains, so too would it carve away EPA's precious and necessary authorities under the Clean Water Act.

"H.R. 2354's assault on Americans and their environment extends beyond allowing the desecration of the beautiful waters they so treasure. The bill also curtails programs meant to advance economic recovery in a manner more sustainable for the environment. While I commend my colleagues on the House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee for dedicating funding to repair the damage caused by the recent storms and floods, I do not agree with taking funding from critical infrastructure projects that offer enormous economic impacts in a myriad of communities across this country. If my colleagues recognize the storms and floods as emergency events, then they should have had the fortitude to allocate emergency funding to these repairs outside of the normal appropriations process.

"By nature high-speed rail funding are immediate economic generators. Under H.R. 2354, the 15th District is slated to lose more than $495 million in funding awarded to four high-speed rail projects in our district. The projects that would be derailed are the development of new train stations in Ann Arbor and Dearborn, the joint Midwest Regional Rail passenger rail equipment purchase, and the rehabilitation and improvement of track between Kalamazoo and Dearborn. This rescission will result in the loss of as many as 13,008 jobs.

"And as if cutting funds for mass transit were not enough, H.R. 2354 also seeks to eviscerate the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program, which helps automakers and suppliers produce more fuel efficient vehicles and decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil. This is the height of folly and quite frankly indefensible.

"Mr. Speaker, for all of these reasons and more, I oppose H.R. 2354 and urge my colleagues to do so as well. Their children and grandchildren will thank them if they do.

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