When it comes to protecting the environment, Democrats would like for you to believe Republicans don't take the issue seriously and they couldn't be more wrong.
As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I have personally worked on the issue of climate change. In the last Congress, under Republican leadership, the Energy and Commerce Committee passed a number of bipartisan bills aimed at protecting our air, land and water.
Our work in the current 116th Congress has been no different.
Earlier this year, I teamed up with my Republican colleague, Rep. Rob Wittman, along with Democrat Reps. Doris Matsui and Alan Lowenthal, as we introduced the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) of 2019.
Earlier this year, I teamed up with my Republican colleague, Rep. Rob Wittman, along with Democrat Reps. Doris Matsui and Alan Lowenthal, as we introduced the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) of 2019.
This bipartisan legislation would reauthorize DERA, a program where emissions-reducing strategies are deployed to promote clean air, healthier communities and protect the environment. Specifically, this bill allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award grants to states to upgrade diesel engines to make them cleaner and more efficient.
Since its inception, DERA grants have helped replace or alter more than 67,000 engines and saved more than 450 million gallons of fuel. On top of that, 64 percent of grant recipients were in areas where there were already significant air quality challenges.
This bipartisan program has helped communities all across the country, including my home state of Missouri. In 2018, the EPA and the Volkswagen Trust, which also aims to reduce emissions by replacing engines, helped Missouri replace 74 buses all across the state. Some of the communities helped include several from southwest Missouri, such as McDonald County, Ozark, Lebanon and Joplin.
Although Democrats now hold the majority in the House of Representatives, it hasn't stopped Republicans from working on commonsense solutions to combat this growing problem. The DERA Act, along with my other work on the Energy and Commerce Committee, are steps in the right direction towards reducing the United States’ carbon footprint.
Since its inception, DERA grants have helped replace or alter more than 67,000 engines and saved more than 450 million gallons of fuel. On top of that, 64 percent of grant recipients were in areas where there were already significant air quality challenges.
This bipartisan program has helped communities all across the country, including my home state of Missouri. In 2018, the EPA and the Volkswagen Trust, which also aims to reduce emissions by replacing engines, helped Missouri replace 74 buses all across the state. Some of the communities helped include several from southwest Missouri, such as McDonald County, Ozark, Lebanon and Joplin.
Although Democrats now hold the majority in the House of Representatives, it hasn't stopped Republicans from working on commonsense solutions to combat this growing problem. The DERA Act, along with my other work on the Energy and Commerce Committee, are steps in the right direction towards reducing the United States’ carbon footprint.
Talk is cheap!
ReplyDeleteI'll believe Congressman Billy Long is taking the environment seriously when I see him helping save the Amazon by sweeping the forest floor!
All this guy does is go to Vegas!
ReplyDeleteAt least Billy's critics have pared down on the fat jokes.
ReplyDeleteThere used top be tons and tons of 'em!
Ha ha ha! True.
DeleteHell, you would think that us all inclusive liberals would find body shaming repulsive and inhumane. But because he is an old white guy, we don't care.