the e.p.a. as co-regulators under the clean water act and preserve the authority of states to make determinations relating to the water quality standards and permitting. the bill was carefully and narrowly crafted to preserve the authority of states to make decisions about their own water quality standards and permits without undo interference on second-guessing from e.p.a. bureaucrats in washington with little or no knowledge of local water quality conditions. the legislation reins in e.p.a. from unilaterally issuing a revised or new order quality standard for a pollutant whenever a state has adopted an e.p.a. -- and e.p.a. has already approved a standard for that pollutant. h.r. 2018 restricts e.p.a. from withdrawing its previous approval of a state's mpds water quality permitting program or from plimenting federal financial assistance for state water quality permitting program on the basis that the e.p.a. disagrees with the state. further, the bill restricts e.p.a.'s -- e.p.a. from ejecting to

the e.p.a. has come to the aid of these communities by dedicating funding to restore the great lakes. but today's bill would bar new york state from receiving any restoration funding from the e.p.a. and leave the great lakes to be overrun by the invasive species delivered overseas. any bill that stands up for foreign shipping magnets but won't provide a cent to help americans should never see the light of day and will never receive my vote. today's legislation also harms the arts. if today's bill takes effect, the national endowment for the arts will have lost 20% of its funding in two years. these cuts target a program that works. in f.y. 2010 we invested $165.5 billion, remember that number. $167.5. for the purpose of providing funding to nonprofit art organizations. the funding created 166.2 billion in total economic activity. supported 5.7 million jobs. and generated back for the $167 million, put back in the federal treasury $1.6 billion in tax revenues to the united states treasury. and tha

the e.p.a. office of sustainable communities was established to provide a resource for communities who need technical assistance to plan for economic growth, deal with development, account for a changing population and the demographics, to expand their economic development options and make communities more attract toiv business and local citizens. mr. chairman, there are hundreds of examples from across the country about the work that the office of sustainable communities has accomplished. some of the most important projects were situations where the office of smart vote has helped in brownfield redevelopment. these are complicated problems for local communities where they help turn unusable, polluted land into land that's ready for development. this helps create housing an business opportunities and provides cities with important foundations for planning future growth. this is precisely the sort of thing that we should be doing to help communities leverage resources and prepare for the future. i

on the whole, i think e.p.a. is doing a good job. probably too early in the process to think about the concerns i have, long-term effects on soil and water. they're cleaning up oil and that's what they should be doing. the montana department of environmental quality came out to do some soil samples on monday. they took three samples. i need more information. how much oil is too much oil on my property? what's the long term effect of oil on my grass, what if it comes back? why is some of my grass dying and some of it growing? there seems to be a gap in the knowledge that e.p.a. guys don't know much about farming and the farm guy doesn't know much about oil spills. i think the biggest story is property values. the reason i want independent soil testing is i want to have a report in my file cabinet that i can show anybody might be considering buying my place some day a clean bill of health, if you will for my property. i feel like exxon mobile owes me this. the same with my water well. i'd like the well to be tested for maybe three years

the e.p.a. and water quality standards. while we wait for that, though, the first thing we'll take you over to the visitor's center and studio for an anticipated briefing with a couple of the republican members, including including presidential candidate michelle bachmann, steve king of iowa, louie gohmert of texas, they'll talk about the debt ceiling. we expect this to get under way in a few minutes. we'll stay here live in anticipation of the briefing getting under way. one note about the house today n. a special election held in california yesterday, here's the report from the hill. they say the democrats can breathe a sigh of relief. democrat janice hahn won wednesday's special election, holding off a self-funding republican businessman. the margin there 54.6% to 45.4%. janice hahn. a los angeles city councilwoman, will replace jane harman who resigned to become president of a think tank here in the nation's capital. that election happening yesterday in california. long long. again, live wait

the essential e.p.a. statement went on to say and i quote again, as detailed in the supplemental draft and environmental impact statement for the keystone x.l. pipeline issued by the department of state, the department of energy -- potential impact of the project. e.p.a. provided no -- provided some data to be included in that effort but e.p.a. models were not used and e.p.a. did not model any projection emissions effect of the project, end quote. madam speaker, there are some who believe that the majority does not care about facts or truth or science. if these facts or otherwise get in the way of industry moving forward unfettered. well, by voting for my amendment we have an opportunity to set the record straight and prove to the american people that when a statement is shown to be false then members of congress from both sides, democrats or republicans, will put their partisan differences aside and stand on the side of truth. the truth shall set you free. so i urge all my colleagues to support my correct

that's the e.p.a. who is going after numerous pieces of legislation that will in the near term kill jobs, in the medium term kill jobs and in the long term kill jobs. we should be going after the f.t.c. who is going of a captain crunch and tony the tiger. those are holding our country back and holding back economic

workers have been furloughed now republicans want to cut a billion and a half bucks out of the e.p.a. is like if they can do away with agencies then they just like slash they're going back to the number we're roughly where it was five years ago i think you've got it cutting taking a little bit from the e.p.a. making them less meddlesome and hampering business is not a bad idea the e.p.a. still slated to get seven point one five billion dollars that's billion i mean they think this is an organization that doesn't do much which has a lot of it which has probably too much authority already and which gets a lot of funding i don't have a problem with this at all in fact i'm favorite even if a billion out of the majority want it but you don't want to cut it out of you don't want to touch the entitlement programs where the i was right about all that is i want to roll back the reagan tax cuts. you know if we went back to one thousand if we rolled back the bush reagan and l.b.j. tax cuts we went back to the tax rates in one thousand nine hundred. thirty two percent to be gay and corporations w

it was awarded a $20,000 grant from the e.p.a. and it is commonly known as the superfund which obviously it was in some years past to conduct tests to conduct assess and aquality the risks to human health. the goal of this program was to investigate whether there were hazardous runoff. this community needed those resources. the council used the grant funds to hire a consultant to take air and water samples. the analysis revealed high concentrations of high toxin substances. they observed substances seep pping. this will collected into pools of water. they became engeorged and increased -- increasing exposures of residents to hazardous substances. it educated a poor community of seniors and others about the conditions of their neighborhood. this funding that takes away from e.p.a. and takes away from the clean water state revolving fund and impacts communities like that of the acres home community in the 18th congressional district. my friends, we cannot gamble with the safety of the american pum public. the quality of the environme

the -- who have been abused by the e.p.a. are the ones that will put on that commission. >> herman cane is fifth in a recent gallop poll of the official republican contenders. >>> the countdown to national debt default is kicking -- ticking away and the obama administration is pushing congress to get a deal done. fox's peter ducey has more on what is at stake here. >> reporter: today is july 2nd. the administration said the debt limit will be reached on august 2nd. now, president obama said that to tackle our massive national deficit, tax breaks must be targeted with wasteful spending and that nothing is off the table and it's time the government starts liveing win its means like families do. tell be nice if we could keep every tax break, but we can't afford them. because if we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires or for hedge fund managers and corporate jet owners or for oils and gas companies pulling in huge profits without our help, then we'll have to make even deeper cuts somewhere else. >> rep

more than 80% of the american people believe the e.p.a. should not be prevented from performing its duties. a gallup poll reports that four out of five americans are concerned about the water they drink, as well they should. although this legislation is dead on arrival at the white house, it poses a fundamental debate about the type of country we want to hand over to our children and grandchildren. do we want to be a nation that oversees the disappearance of animal populations and weltlands and national parks because we aren't willing to ask for one penny more from millionaires and billionaires? do we want to be a nation that turns away from water treatment and infrastructure in the hopes that no one will notice? do we want to be a nation that values the profits of corporate polluters over the health of children? the republican majority has clearly stated its position. i oppose this bill. the funding cuts and destructive policy riders that rid until bill turn back the clock on vital environmental and health policies. we owe it to our childr

the e.p.a. and wouldn't you think you had a cause that was as worthy as the cause of your father or your mother who advanced the clean water act and the endangered species act and a number of legislation that passed through here in the 1970's and had some justification then and did clean up our water and sewers and landfills and continue to do so today? they were on a cause. they were on a crusade of environmental cloneup back in the 1970's and now their children have jobs working for the e.p.a. and they have a belief and a conviction and a crusade that's as powerful to them as it was to their parents or their successors, the earlier generation. but, you know, we've cleaned up the environmental a lot since the 1970's. most people now enjoy clean water and good sanitary sewer systems and pretty good system of handing -- handling the waste that comes out of society. but the people that are involved as regulators don't see it that way because they have a cause and now they think they need to tredge

the cleanup. we actually get emails every day from e.p.a. local landowners have meetings with exxon and the agencies which we have insisted on, and they do have that back -and-forth dialogue. local efficients are included in the briefing. they have held public meetings which came from our insistens. local workforce is being trained for hazardous cleanup and we have 125 people in the area that are being trained. the you been pick -- the public now knows what to expect. we have assurances from exxon that the property will be cleaned up and put back to the way it was before the leak, and we have independent water and soil sampling through the state and e.p.a. to confirm these assurances. what can we do better? publicity will take a while to explain to agricultural producers and tourists that the yellowstone is safe to use for crops and that tourists can still float and fish on the yellowstone river. communication between all parties took a few days to be seamless, and i tell you we're still working on that, and it needs to be from the very onset

passage of the underlying bill will stop the e.p.a. from repeatedly creating regulatory uncertainty and forcing unnecessary and endless delays and the time to act is now. with that, i urge a no vote on the motion and yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. 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. >> i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the time necessary for any vote on passage. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes

e.p.a. out of the way. today i sat in a hearing where the democrats continued to say we need tighter utility regulations, we need this set of utility rules that will make it almost impossible to build a new utility plant in america. we need that energy. when we don't have that energy prices and costs for our farmers go up and that translates very directly. it translates into costs of food at the table. when i talk to seniors and they say, mike, we know what we spend money on, we spend it on the simple things, we spend it on food and energy to heat our homes, if we keep these policies up, we will be pricing our seniors into a place no one wants them. it doesn't have to be, we have american energy, we can get it. with that i'll yield back my time to the gentleman from south carolina. thank you. south carolina south carolina -- mr. duncan: i just wanted to thank my colleagues for understanding and expressing very clearly that we have the resources in this country to meet our energy needs. we need to put americ

so the e.p.a. went back to the drawing board and crafted the cross-state air pollution rule that has been announced today which will cap the pollution that can be produced in upwind states like ohio, pennsylvania, west virginia, illinois and north carolina. those caps were designed based on each state's contribution to pollution in states like rhode island. and it will ratchet down whenever e.p.a. tightens air quality standards based on the latest and best science. as i said, that rule was finalized today. so thank you, e.p.a. i commend the e.p.a. for tpaoeupbzing that cross -- for finalize that cross-state air pollution rule. i also urge the e.p.a. to update the national ozone air quality standard based on the recommendations from the clean air science advisory committee. this will lead to further pollution reductions upwind of rhode island and further benefit for rhode islanders. these rules will bring us closer to the day when the coal power plants on this chart start taking responsibility for th

i'm disappoint that had this bill blocks the e.p.a. from finalizing a rule reducing emissions of mercury from power plants. last week, members were down here on the floor speaking about the tiny amount of mercury in light bulbs, but today, the same members are blocking a rule that would keep our fisheries healthy and safe for consumption in addition to preventing 17,000 premature deaths each year. i don't understand how my colleagues on the other side of the aisle can be opposed to a small amount of mercury last week and today have no problem, no problem, with much larger quantities of the same substance being allowed to endanger public health. now last week, i urge my colleagues to fight against the 80% cut in the land and water conservation fund, the lowest amount in the 45-year history. as many of us are well aware, hunting, fishing, camping and other recreation activities are a great benefit to our economy, and supports 6.5 million jobs. now these numbers bear out when you look at my home state of rhode island. 163,000 sportsmen and

look around at the forest of mountains that we have a recent environmental impact statement from the e.p.a. estimates over eight hundred square miles of mountains have already been destroyed this includes the permanent destruction of over four hundred fifty individual mountain summits across the region the report also indicates the permanent loss of over twelve hundred miles of mountain streams. although federal regulations for mine reclamation require that mountaintop removal sites be returned to their original contour these mines are routinely granted wavers mined areas are typically graded and then hydro seeded with less but these are grass which clings to the compacted shale and rock that now makes up the topsoil nature builds soil for free but she creates the soil very slowly and so you're talking about thousands of years ago from something like a rock mass that has essentially no soil or is the very thin covering up to generate a few centimeters of soil you're talking about hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands of years continuing at its present rate the projected loss from moun

that's why we support the e.p.a.'s investigation into the potential risks of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water, also the department of energy is looking into this, and as we heard earlier -- >> but do you think they should allow these technologies to proceed in the absence of this knowledge? >> we think there are places that absolutely should be off limits because the risk is too great and the unknowns are great, and that would include drinking watersheds for significant populations, like the head waters of the potomac river. it sounds like the forest service -- i have not read the complete draft environmental impact statement, as was stated earlier, these are placed based , but the falls underground, the drinking water, sources that are there, it sounds like they are on the right track. >> thanks very much. my time has expired. >> we will now take one of the members of the committee out of order because he has a funeral to get to. >> i appreciate this. one of my constituents from the shenandoah valley who gave h

anything out the politicians in europe don't really have a clear strategy it seems like and even the e.p.a. the european banking agency i think it's called that was in charge of the stress test has to work with the national governments which have to work with the banks who are very reluctant open up their balance sheet to any any light i think of the just are you know average people who may not know the end out financing or with a plan back in the enduro should they be concerned about the heroes on crisis because of these practices that mean these policies haven't worked you know they were supposed to save the financial sector. well i mean should people be concerned people should be concerned but not not so much because they're not saving the financial sector the financial sector is doing the best they can to me look these bailouts for example for greece and for ireland not really for greece or ireland there for the big banks in europe primarily french and german dead certain german banks certainly french banks for greece. and that's really the concern for them it's really pushing kicking

the e.p.a. says the cleaner air could prevent as many as 34,000 deaths and 15,000 nonfatal heart attacks every year. there is late-breaking news tonight from grand rapids, michigan, where at least seven people have been shot and killed. the police are looking for a suspect, identified as roderick danceler. the so shootings happened in two homes. dansler reportedly had relationships with the women in those two homes. it is sentencing day for casey anthony. when she will go free is coming up next. with a variety of flavors, multigrain pops with pringles. challenge that with olay regenerist night elixir. its gentle glycolic formula resurfaces at night for the smooth skin of a light chemical peel. sleep tight. regenerist, from olay. imagine a day free of worry, a day when we can eat what we want, drink what we want, and sleep soundly through the night. finally that day has arrived with prevacid®24hr. just one pill helps keep you heartburn-free for a full 24 hours. prevent the acid that causes frequen

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the e.p.a. mandated it because customers currently drink unfiltered water. seems a bold move for gas meters that emit signals and residents that worry microwaves and cell phones pose equal dangers. we even found mention of radiation including ultraviolet. >> this is regular san francisco tap water. >> reporter: is hard for some to swallow. >> you are adding what? >> a ph taster. >> it is turning blue. >> why? >> because they put something in the water. >> reporter: others see nothing but true blue in the water. >> reporter: in gaylord india they only serve san francisco water at the table because it is all diner's ask for. >> besides the wine, water. >> we pour three and a half glasses per person every day, the water, an nobody has ever complained that this water is not tasty. >> reporter: the p.u.c. says as of tonight 85% of the water that reaches its customers will be u.v. treated and in san francisco that number jumps to nearly 100%. >> pair sites. >> reporter: but in san francisco there is always dissent. >> do your research and find out exactly what you

the corps and the e.p.a. must be able to protect water quality irrespective of whether individual states do. 16 different sportsmen groups oppose the prohibition in this bill as do over 100 conservation groups. when wetlands are destroyed and streams are polluted, sportsmen are the ones to be first impacted. hunting and fishing contribute more than $65 billion to the economy, breathing life into rural community and supporting millions of jobs across the country. but these benefits are in jeopardy with this bill. since 2001, safeguards for headwater streams and critical wetlands have steadily eroded. wetlands and tributaries that provide life to the chesapeake way, help retain floodwaters and provide important fish and wildlife habitat are now dengered. these economic and environmental ben -- are now endangered. these economic and environmental benefits are now hurting. some critical waters will be part of the sewage dumping and industrial pollution. some will be filled in for development. bear in mind, much of

i find it interesting that the example of e.p.a. indicating that this mercury would be a danger and so off the subject, when we talk about e.p.a. standards and sustaining the e.p.a., i hope that we can be on the same side on that one. and i continue to reserve my time in order to close the debate. the chair: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognizesed. mr. thompson: -- >> will the gentleman yield? mr. thompson: i will yield, yes. >> i nouveau the two light bulbs there. the one on the right, that's the one that's got mercury in it. mr. thompson: that's correct. mr. crenshaw: the one on your left, that's made in america. and that's just as efficient as the one in your right hand? mr. thompson: it meets the efficiency standards that our manufacturers, when those were set by previous congresses, before my time here, our manufacturers, they stepped to the plate and they rose up and they chose to use innovation in their manufacturing and this is one example of one product that is absolutely energ

the e.p.a. estimates that 50% of all office buildings don't provide enough fresh air. creasing ventilation rates would have a huge impact according to a new report out of the lawrence berkeley lab. >> we would reduce the average health impact and increase worker performance. >> reporter: bill fisk authored the study and says the economy would benefit too. >> the economic benefits from that would be 10 to $20 billion a year. the cost of doing it would be about 2/10ths of a billion dollars a year. >> reporter: bon building that is doing it right? the new department of education office in sacramento. >> this is truly a trend-setter for the state. >> reporter: bill ogden helped design it and took us on a tour. the experience starts at the front door where people coming in pass over a special great. what do these do? >> they clean the dirt and the other particulates off the bottom of your feet so you don't bring them into the building. >> reporter: but the big thing is the unique ventilation system. air comes in from the floor rather than the ceiling, and there is a vent in

the e.p.a. nd bob is the deputy administrator of the u.s. department of protection agency and we have the honorable jesse hordaman with the department of transportation on the first panel and on the second panel, we have bernie, a landowner in montana. thank you for coming, and also gary, who is president of exxonmobil pipeline company, with, of course, exxon. go ahead and begin. >> that's right. chairman, thank you for inviting us today, and we're happy to be here to discuss the role and activities of us e.p.a. regarding the exxonmobil pipeline break into the yellowstone river and the resulting oil spill. e.p.a., in coordination with our federal, state, tribal and local partners can committed to protecting the yellowstone river and the communities around it from the adverse environmental effects from the silver tip oil spill. as i think we all know now, this occurred on july 1st, late at night. the break occurred in a 12-inch pipeline owned by exxonmobil that resulted in a spill of crude oil int

be put there giving it all the rays of light by regulating it through the e.p.a. what we did we might have an explosion in the solar business and it will you know it we have a we have an election two years ago and i think the american people don't want these deficits they want to deal they want to feel good i mean there's a lot of people that skinner like americans care about the deficit they don't they i mean if you guys are put into a frenzy but the average american doesn't even know what the deficit is you could put those let's put the new york times it or put it and most and forty seven percent of americans don't pay taxes it's the people people are not anywhere near neal i'm sorry we're out of time it's really great appreciate you dropping by nice to meet you thanks for thanks for being here. just. it's the good the bad in a very very sort of cleanly ugly first the good. for freedom from religion foundation after texas governor rick perry designated august sixth as a day of prayer and fasting for a nation to seek god's guidance prepare his words and called on

simpson: in the base bill we reduce nearly every e.p.a. geographical program below the 2011 enacted levels in addition to providing none of the requested increases. despite the cuts, restoration to the great lakes remains a committee priority as demonstrated by the fact that the great lakes program is the largest recipient of funs in the geographic programs, it's the largest geographical area also so you would probably expect that. while i appreciate the intent of the gentleman's offset, where he offset this from, we cut e.p.a.'s climate budget by $23 million and it's easy to vote against funding for climate change or the increased funding that we have put into climate change. the chairman's remark and believe it or not there are some e.p.a. programs we support under the climate change heading including research and development of new automotive stecknolings including the hydraulic hybrid technology for trucks, carbon capture and sequestration and initiatives to increase methane transmission. the reality is that over a period of time, becau

. >> a spokeswoman for the e.p.a. said the staff spotted oil 40 miles downstream and other reports as far as $100 miles away. in new york -- at 100 miles away. >>> a fox 5 consumer alert tonight. a fast food giant is going green leave seas. mcdonald's in the united arab emirates is planning to power the trucks with leftovers from the fast food cooking process and hopes to lower its carbon footprint by having the vegetable oil do double duty. nutri foods has a deal to convert it into biodiesel and they plan to produce fuel to burn 50% cleaner than the average diesel. >>> family heartache and loss brought them together. tonight, an unlikely pair tie the knot. what sets this wedding a part when fox 5 news continues. >>> what does scouting anding can have in common? turns out a lot. i'm jennifer davis on capitol hill. the story is coming up. >> this 4th of july will be one to remember for the sweet and balmer children of bowie, maryland. it's wedding day for their mom and dad and a day that brings together two families tor

. -- from the e.p.a. on how to dispose one of thighs light bulbs. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: thank you, madam speaker. so we are after the passage of this legislation years ago finding out that these aren't the greatest things in the world. we have found and shed a little light on the cfl light bulb. it is not a brighter idea, it is unhealthy for americans, doesn't allow for competition so if we don't pass this bill, we might as well turn off the lights, the party is over for the traditional incandescent light bulb. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the chair: the -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. >> i yield to the gentleman from pennsylvania for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. altmire: i keep hearing my colleagues repeat the fantasy that government has banned the incandescent light bulb. they think if they say it enough it'll be true but it's not. manufacturers are