WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held a business meeting to consider the following items:
Below is the opening statement of Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), which was submitted for the record:
“Good Morning, Chairman Carper, and thank you for calling this business meeting today.
“I am excited for this Committee to consider two recycling bills today, the chairman’s and Senator Boozman’s bill that I am pleased to cosponsor, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act, as well as my bill, the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act, that the chairman and Senator Boozman have also kindly cosponsored.
“Chairman Carper has already spoken about his legislation in his remarks, so I will focus on mine.
“The bipartisan Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act would improve recycling accessibility throughout the United States, with a particular emphasis on bringing recycling services to underserved areas.
“Recycling helps protect our environment, while supporting jobs and combatting the supply-chain crisis.
“The legislation would establish a pilot grant program at EPA, providing federal support for recycling infrastructure projects such as transfer stations and drop-off facilities.
“These projects facilitate a hub-and-spoke model of infrastructure development, helping improve the economics of recycling in areas where recycling rates are low or nonexistent.
“The Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act enjoys broad support across the recycling industry and environmental community, with more than 20 groups writing in support of the bill, including the National Waste and Recycling Association, Waste Management, and the American Beverage Association.
“Today, we will also consider a compromise amendment in the nature of a substitute to the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, which would provide a historic investment to help states with their species recovery efforts.
“I thank Senators Blunt and Heinrich—the lead sponsors—for leading this legislation to provide our state fish and wildlife agencies with more resources to conserve at-risk species.
“I believe that more work will be needed to offset the cost of this bill once we receive the CBO analysis before it is considered on the floor.
“I support the amendment in the nature of a substitute and hope it will be reported favorably today.
“In addition to these three bills and ten noncontroversial GSA resolutions, we are considering two EPA nominees that were re-nominated this year, Dr. Waterhouse and Mr. Uhlmann.
“As I stated at the business meeting where we considered these nominees last year, I am troubled by Dr. Waterhouse’s personal views on the energy sector and capitalism.
“Dr. Waterhouse’s previous statements calling for the U.S. and other developed countries to pay ‘climate reparations’ to the rest of the world has given me pause.
“Dr. Waterhouse is also on the record using the hashtag #ResistCapitalism multiple times.
“I believe these viewpoints would impede his ability to carry out the Office of Land and Emergency Management’s duty to impartially consider stakeholder input and would unnecessarily politicize its mission of protecting public health from legacy pollution.
“At this time, I also remain unable to support Mr. Uhlmann’s nomination because of the Biden EPA’s continued failure to adhere to the basic principle of transparency, especially regarding the U.S. nationally determined contribution.
“As I highlighted in yesterday’s hearing, it has been almost a full year since Administrator Regan committed on the record to sending information on the NDC to this Committee.
“The American people and Congress deserve to know how this administration plans to meet their climate goals of 50 to 52 percent emissions reduction by 2030.
“The longer they hide the details on this and other regulatory proposals meant to reshape the way Americans live their lives, the more the agency’s credibility continues to suffer.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
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