>> i think legislation by republicans partner john shimkus of illinois, myself have offered to my colleagues, and we have very good bipartisan support on that bill as well as the agreement of former members

shimkus and others, it is a good thing, not a bad thing that we actually have a refinery and petrochemical industry that's competitive enough that we can actually export some of our products. they're creating and maintaining jobs in the united states. 74% of all the crude that comes into this country is used in this country. that's the latest statistic. but more and more we are shipping some of our refined products overseas because we have the competitive industry to do so. we're primarily shipping them to the european market. our refineries are more competitive. we have invested over $300 billion in the last 15 or 20 years and we're able to refine low sulfur diesel as mr. green pointed out. some of the distill lat fuels and we can be competitive in the european market. that's a good thing, not a bad thing. the gentle lady from the virgin islands was talking to me recently, a big refinery in her region is shutting down. i think it's a 500,000 barrel per day refinery. i believe it's a little older refinery, they're not as competitive. as demand for some of the refined products has declined

i know chairman shimkus and i talked about some of the things we can do with this. >> at this time i'd like to recognize the gentleman from texas, mr. barton, five minutes for questions. >> thank you, mr. chairman. madam administrator, back in october, i think october the 12th you appeared before a hearing of this committee. i asked you a question about the number of credit cards that the epa and what the limits were and how much money was spent and what the criteria. we put that in a follow-up letter to your administration on november the 1st. we've still not gotten an answer. can you enlighten us on the status of that query and what the response is to it? >> i think you have your epa women mixed up. i think that was ms. bennett's hearing and we'll get you an answer as soon as we can. >> do you know where it is? do you know anything about it other than we haven't gotten any response at all? >> i know we're preparing a response and will be getting a response to you, sir. >> okay. you have been doing quite a bit of travel which is a good thing i think. i don't have a problem with admini

shimkus's, which i wasn't here to hear, but i did read. with that, i have a minute left if you want to yield. >> let me reclaim that time and look to chairman emeritus to see if you would like to use the remainder of your time. >> most briefly, mr. chairman, thank you. i want to welcome our two witnesses and our panels today, secretary beers and wulf. i want to note that it is being conducted in a bipartisan fashion, something which merits high praise around this place. having said that, i look forward to the results of the hearing today. i would note that i have a number of these facilities in my district. and when they let go, as one did not long back, it causes lots of excitement. and it can cause significant numbers of casualties and enormous hardships on the communities in which the facility might exist. so your labors and your leadership, mr. chairman, are much appreciated. and i look forward to the hearing going forward in the spirit in which it has begun, and in the hope that we will be able to see to it that we get these programs

shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. shimkus: before my pennsylvania friends get all freaked out, i appreciate you letting me come to the floor for five minutes to do what is now a weekly constitutional of mine and talk about high-level nuclear waste in yucca mountain. washington i've been doing to -- what i've been doing to set the stage is highlighting areas where there's nuclear waste throughout this country and just making the statement that it is in the national interests and actually it's national federal law that this waste be consolidated in a centralized storage facility. and so with that, i'll begin. today we're headed to the great state of minnesota and we're looking at a nuclear power plant called prairie island. now, prairie island has 725 million tons ofure rainum, of spent -- of uranium, of spent fuel on site. prairie island has waste stored above ground in pools and dried casts. prairie island is in the mississippi ri

shimkus, for five minutes. mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. shimkus: thank you mr. speaker. i come back to the floor again this week to continue to bach about high level nuclear waste and its location around the country. and this week, you know, really sadens me because in the weeks past when i've identified the u.s. senators from the appropriate states, usually i would have more in support of moving their high level nuclear waste out of their state than who wants to vote to keep it in their state. and as i go to connecticut today and the states surrounding connecticut, it's really amazing mr. speaker, how many senators have gone on record to say, no, it's ok, we'll just keep this nuclear waste in our state for 15, 20, 25 more years. so with that let's look at the options we have here. the nuclear power plant that i'm addressing today is called millstone. it's in connecticut. and i always like to compare where the high level nuclear waste s

shimkus. >> i'm glad to see my friend from massachusetts concerned about private property rights.f the staff would put up a slide on the screen. let's put this all in perspective. is going to come up. come on. staff, don't let me down. say hi, mom. >> okay, those are the pipelines in the united states currently. candidate to the united states you have a pipeline from edmonton to puget sound, edmonton to guernsey, edmonton to detroit, montrÉal to chicago, regina to guernsey, calgary to barstow, westbrook, quÉbec to new jersey. toronto to boston, toronto to new york. winnipeg to omaha. winnipeg to detroit to edmonton to windsor. now we have to pipelines that are flowing from the united states to canada. portland to montrÉal. that's long distance. portland, another one from portland to montrÉal. from mexico to the united states, to el paso. folks, this is instead we haven't done before. there is a system by which we approve pipeline, and especially the ones -- my point is this is not new. and we do it for the public interest and the public good to make sure that we have a free flow o

shimkus: there was extensive damage and six residents lost their lives. our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost family and friends, those who were injured and those who lost their homes. i plan to visit harrisburg permly tomorrow and thank all those first responders who have been working tirelessly to care for the injured and to begin the long road back to cleanup. the mutual aide provided by the surrounding communities is also very heartwarming. i pledge to work with mayor eric greg and other local officials to rebuild the harrisburg re-- we all know and love. thank you and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered. or on which the vote incurs oklahoma under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 1134,

shimkus which it hear it what you claim to the chairman emeritus to see the remainder i want to welcomeour panelists today i want to commend you for having this hearing. i want to note it is being conducted in something which in its high priorities around this place. having said that, results of the hearing today. i number of these and not long back, it causes lots of excitement and casualties enormous hardships from the communities in which the your labors and their leadership, mr. chairman look forward to the hearing going which it in the hope that we will be able get these programs widely differing character point where they working together to accomplish the great purpose for his safety and security for the thank you and mr. with that committee chair of international program director at the department of homeland security, mr. david m. wolf, deputy director of infrastructure office of infrastructure protection, national protection programs director at the you know, the testimony that you are about to section 1001 at when holding an investigative hearing, and this committee has the p

shimkus of illinois, mr. womack of arkansas. the speaker: pursuant to clause 4 of rule 1, the following enrolled bills were signed by the speaker on friday, january 27, 2012. the clerk: h.r. 3800, to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the airport and airway trust fund, to amend title 49, united states code, to extend the airport program and for other purposes. h.r. 3801, to amend the tariff act of 1930 to clarify the definition of aircraft and the offenses penalized under the aviation smuggling provisions under that act and for other purposes. the speaker: the chair will entertain you have to 15 requests from each side of the aisle for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? will kopelman mr. speaker, i ask -- mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker: without objection, so ordered. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, baker spring of the prestigious he

shimkus and others, it is a good thing, not a bad thing, that we actually have a refinery in petrochemical industry that's competitive enough in world markets that we can actually export some of our refined products. they are value added products. they are creating, maintaining jobs in the united states. 74% of all the crude that comes into this country is used in this country. that's the latest eiea statistic. but more and more we are shipping some of our refined products overseas because we have the competitive industry to do so. we're primarily shipping them to the european market. our refineries are more competitive. we've invested over $300 billion in the last 15 or 20 years. and we're able to refine low sulfur diesel as mr. green pointed out, some of the distillate fuels. and we actually can be competitive in the european market. that's a good thing, not a bad thing. the gentlelady from the virgin island was talking to me recently that a big refinery in her region is shutting down. it's a 500,000 barrel per day refinery. it's an older refinery and not as competitive and demand for so