mr. whitfield: thank you, madam chair. at this time i would like to yield five minutes to the gentleman from michigan, mr. upton, the chairman of the full energy and commerce committee. the chair: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for five minutes. mr. upton: thank you, madam chair. you know a new era for north american energy and it's time for the congress infrastructure to finally catch up. that's why we wrote h.r. 3301, the north american energy infrastructure act, with my friend and colleague, gene green, from texas. it it's lessons concerned from the keystone x.l. pipeline debacle we are creating a fair and transparent approval process for cross border energy projects. put them all on a level playing field finally, securing lower energy prices and, yes, plenty of jobs. north america's energy abundance has been a game changer. our couldn't nent, indeed, -- our continent's geopolitical benefits are almost too good to believe. however, outdated, unnecessary federal regs are standing in the way of this potential, i

mr. whitfield. he asked about going on beyond the source and you cited the clean air mercury rule. are there other precedents epa has for going on regulating sources? >> it is focused on the fossil generation. >> you gave him an example where you've gone beyond the actual source. do you have other examples like the clean air mercury rule, yes or no? >> no. the other are industry-specific like this one is. >> clean air mercury rule, there was nothing outside regulated sources. you could trade amongst them but couldn't go beyond that to compliances as you are proposing here? >> that's right. >> my recollection is clean air mercury rule was overturned. >> not on that basis. >> it's no longer in effect. it's gone. it was unlawful. lawless much like what you are proposing here. yeah. have you met with john pedesta? >> i have. >> how many times? >> i don't recall. >> one time, three times, five times? do you have an estimate? >> does he have a parking spot outside your building? >> it's infrequent. >> how many times has your staff met with he or someone else at the white house on this se

mr. whitfield. he asked you about the president going after the source under 111d and you cited the clean air mercury rule. are there other precedence that the epa has for going on regulating existing sources? >> this is beyond existing sources because it's focused on the fossil generation. steve gave the example and you cited the clean air mercury rule. do you have other examples like the clean air mercury rule? >> guest: no? >> the other examples are industry-specific like this one is. >> under the clean air mercury rule there's nothing outside of regular sources and you can trade but you couldn't go beyond that to apply such as you are proposing here. is that correct collects a yes or no question. >> question. >> that's write. >> to my recollection the clean air mercury rule was overturned. >> it is no longer in effect. >> it was lawless much like you are proposing here. have you met with john podesta in the course of developing these regulations. >> i have. >> how many times? one-time, three tim

mr. whitfield: the great lakes we're all committed to. there are 33 separate environmental laws that would not be changed by this legislation. with all due respect, i view this as a procedural vote that says no to north american energy security and lower prices. it's time to say yes and end procedural delays. please vote no on this motion and say yes to north american security. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the motion to recommit. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the noes have it. the question is on the passage of the bill. >> madam speaker, i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, this

whitfield bill would make it even better. at this time, the gentleman from michigan, mr. upton, chairman of the full committee, is not here, so i'm going to recognize mr. barton of texas, and if he does not utilize all of his time, if he wants to yield to someone else, that would be great. >> does the chairman know if there are other members on our side that wish time? >> is there anyone that would like time? you want any time, mr. shimkus? then i'll recognize the gentleman from texas, mr. barton, for five minutes. >> well, thank you. mr. chairman, members of the committee, and our witness and folks in the audience, one could argue that the audacity of this proposal is so breathtaking that in and of itself it's a health hazard, because it literally takes my breath away what they have proposed. in the case of my state, texas, if texas were to implement this in its entirety between 2012 and 2030, we would have to reduce co2 emissions by 41%. we would also, in terms of the national total, have to reduce co2 emissions -- our co2 emissions would be 25% of the national total in