Frank Pallone Accuses Donald Trump Of 'Selling Off His Policy Priorities To The Highest Bidder'

4 months ago

At a House Energy Committee hearing last week, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) spoke about former President Trump's reported meeting with Big Oil executives.

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Transcript

00:00The gentlelady yields. I now recognize the ranking member of the full committee,

00:04the gentleman from New Jersey, Representative Pallone, for five minutes for an opening statement.

00:08Thank you Mr. Chairman. I want to welcome Administrator Reagan back to the committee

00:12and thank you for being here today to discuss President Biden's fiscal year budget for the

00:18EPA. And since our last budget hearing, EPA has been hard at work protecting public health and

00:24the environment. The agency has been implementing the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation

00:29Reduction Act that were delivered last Congress by President Biden and Congressional Democrats,

00:34and I look forward to hearing about the agency's progress. These laws are directing investments

00:39into communities across the nation, modernizing our aging infrastructure, and helping us lead

00:44the world in the transition to a clean energy economy. So last month, the administration

00:50announced $20 billion in grant awards as part of the Inflation Reduction Act's Greenhouse Gas

00:55Reduction Fund to deploy clean energy projects in communities nationwide. In February, the EPA

01:00announced the final $1 billion allotment of funding for a total of $3.5 billion from the

01:06bipartisan infrastructure law to clean up contaminated Superfund sites. And then earlier

01:11this month, the EPA announced $3 billion in funding to replace up to $1.7 million in toxic

01:17lead service lines nationwide. And these investments are already making a difference.

01:22More than 271,000 clean energy jobs have already been created, with millions of good-paying American

01:28jobs expected over the next decade. The investments from these two laws will grow our economy and cut

01:34costs for American families. The President's Fiscal Year 2025 request builds on the success

01:40of our historic climate laws by investing in the health, safety, and prosperity of all American

01:46families and moving the country forward. To combat the climate crisis, I am pleased that the budget

01:51invests nearly $3 billion for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping communities build

01:57resilience to the impacts of a changing climate. EPA will continue to drive down potent super

02:03pollutants with key climate programs to cut methane and curb the production and use of

02:08hydrofluorocarbons. And the budget includes funding to implement achievable carbon pollution standards

02:14for fossil fuel power plants and vehicles, as directed by Congress. I also commend the

02:20administration for devoting $170 million to combat PFAS pollution and increase funding to

02:26effectively implement ATASCA, the Toxic Substances Control Act. This funding will allow the agency

02:32to evaluate and manage risks from toxic chemicals to protect workers and families. This investment

02:38builds on EPA's recent drinking water standards and hazardous substance designations for specific

02:44PFAS chemicals, which will protect Americans from these forever chemicals.

02:50The budget request supplements the revenue collected from the reinstatement of the Superfund

02:54Tax to fund more cleanup activities. I fought for decades to reinstate this tax, and thanks to these

03:00new laws, it is once again a reality. I am also pleased to see the budget bolster EPA's work to

03:06advance environmental justice through the President's Justice40 initiative. Overall, I

03:11believe this budget request appropriately prioritizes the protection of human health

03:16and the environment. It demonstrates the value that Biden's EPA places on ensuring

03:20access to clean air and water, meeting our shared climate goals, driving innovation in homegrown

03:27clean energy, creating good-paying middle-class jobs, and protecting American consumers by holding

03:33polluters accountable. And the budget stands in sharp contrast to the Republicans' polluters

03:38over people agenda. It's bad enough that not one Republican on this committee supported either the

03:43bipartisan infrastructure law or the Inflation Reduction Act, but they spent the last year trying

03:48to undermine these investments at every turn. Republicans are also working behind closed doors

03:53with the Trump campaign to develop a radical policy roadmap that would repeal the Inflation

03:58Reduction Act, slash the EPA, and dismantle bedrock environmental protections. And according

04:04to recent reports, Trump is selling off his policy priorities to the highest bidder, to the tune of

04:09demanding $1 billion in campaign contributions from big oil and gas corporations in exchange for

04:16executing their pro-polluter agenda. So the priorities of the Democrats in the Biden administration

04:21could not be more different, and the President's fiscal year 2025 request reflects that difference,

04:28obviously, from the Republicans. Sometimes I wonder if the Republicans even care about protecting

04:33the environment at all. So I appreciate Administrator Reagan's leadership, and I'm committed to working

04:38together to secure a more sustainable future for all Americans. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Frank Pallone Accuses Donald Trump Of 'Selling Off His Policy Priorities To The Highest Bidder'

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