mr. william reilly. now we turn to former administrator thomas. lcome. >> thank you, chairman, senator sessions. >> i think you may need to turn your microphone on. >> thank you, mr. chairman, senator sessions, other members of the committee for holding the hearing in giving me an opportunity to offer a perspective on climate change based upon my experience at epa dealing with many complex environmental issues during the reagan years. i have approached the issue using a risk assessment and risk management process. this is the approach we used during my time at the epa as we addressed a range of environmental problems, whether it was assessing the impact of stratospheric ozone depletion caused by claro carbons or the impact of lead in gasoline on children's self. scientific data and analysis were the first step in evaluating the risks posed by the problem. during my six years at the epa, i dealt with many contentious issues. first, as assistant administrator two years and later as administrator over four years. i cannot remember any matter i dealt w

mr. turn to george w. bush. she oversaw standards that reduce diesel air pollution. the honorable william william reilly.ust render under president george h.w. bush were to amend the clean air act to control acid rain. dr. daniel bodkin is professor emeritus at the university of california santa barbara. i welcome my colleague here attorney general and dr. joseph mason is the hermon moose junior louisiana bankers association professor banking at louisiana state university and senior fellow at the school so i welcome the panel and it will begin with the honorable dr. ruckelshaus. >> thank you senator whitehouse and senator sessions and members of the subcommittee for convening this hearing on a matter of enormous importance for our future. i'm pleased to be here and reassure at least some of you that i'm still alive. several months ago after talking with one another the former epa administrator sitting in front of you were convinced by the overwhelming verdict of scientists that the earth is warming and that we humans are the only controllable contributor to this phenomenon. given those facts we signed op