Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) says that in a time when households around the country are having to tighten their budgets, it is disappointing that federal agencies continue to hand out awards to contractors whom perform poorly. (0:45)
By Annie Berman – Talk Radio News Service
At a hearing Thursday, the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety discussed the most cost-effective way for Congress to regulate toxic emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and mercury.
“We need Congress to develop a comprehensive three-pollutant bill that provides protective and reasonably attainable reductions of SO2 and NOx emissions, incorporates the regulation of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants,” said Randall R. LaBauve, Vice President of Environmental Services for the Florida Power & Light Company, who testified at the hearing.
A “cap and trade” policy continues to be a controversial issue regarding the regulation of toxic emissions. Though almost all of the witnesses at the hearing were in favor of a cap and trade policy, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) was clearly against it.
“We’ve had testimony before this committee by Oak Ridge scientists, that cap and trade was a very inefficient way to deal with fuel because it raises the price, that’s for sure, but it doesn’t reduce the carbon. It only raises the price by 10 or 20 cents, but that’s not enough to change behavior,” said Alexander.
John B. Stephenson, Director of Natural Resources and Environment at the United States Government Accountability Office was one of several at the hearing who recommended using sorbent injections to reduce mercury emissions. Sorbent injections function essentially like a filtering system to remove mercury from releasing into the air.
“When the results of 50 tests of sorbent injection systems at power plants [were conducted]…mercury reductions of at least 90 percent [had] been achieved,” said Stephenson.
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) also shared some alarming statistics regarding toxic pollutants in an attempt to demonstrate the urgency of this issue.
“More than 24,000 Americans die a year from sulfur dioxide emissions alone. Unfortunately, many of our fellow Americans are exposed to these pollutants every day. Six out of 10 Americans – more than 186 million people – live in areas where air pollution levels endanger lives.”
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) reminisces about previous hearings about reducing mercury emissions from the atmosphere. He was amazed at how cost effective it is to reduce mercury emissions by using a sorbate injection, which would essentially filter out the mercury from power plant smoke stacks. (0:32)
By Courtney Costello-Talk Radio News Service
In an effort to stem the Taliban’s recent armed attacks on the Pakistani state, a coalition of Democratic Senators outlined a plan to increase military presence in Pakistan.
Following the Obama Administration aim to strengthen the region, the senators’ plan would increase U.S. military forces with 17,000 American troops primarily made up of Marines and 4,000 American military trainers. Their job would consist of training the Pakistan Armed Forces to fight the influx of insurgents in the South.
Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) had only praise for the new strategy of military leadership in Pakistan and also highlighted other initiatives of the plan.
“There is a great emphasis on not just the military work and taking down the Taliban, but also making sure the economy of the country and the people who live there have a opportunity to better security but also a better life.”
The senators found that Pakistan is united to remove the Taliban from their country.
“The Pakistan government have a brand new tone, they’re serious and they recognize that the enemy that presents a true threat to the future of their country is the insurgency”, said Senator Mark Udall (D-Colo.)
Along with the increase of military force in Pakistan the senators also described bringing in 700 U.S. military helicopters to help Pakistan fight the insurgents but to also help Pakistan with maintenance of their current helicopters.
The senators who attended the Congressional Delegation (CODEL) trip included, Tom Carper (D-Del.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.).
At a Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing on mercury legislation, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) says “mercury pollution can be a serious threat,” that “one in 17 women of childbearing age have mercury in their blood at levels that could pose a risk to their unborn children,” and that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Mercury Rule is “flawed” and “did not go far enough to protect the health of America’s vulnerable populations.” (0:40)
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing to discuss various pieces of legislation pertaining to the proliferation of mercury in the environment and in exports. Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) could not be present, so Sen. Tom Carper conducted the hearing in her place. Carper said that “one in 17 women of childbearing age have mercury in their blood at levels that could pose a risk to their unborn children,” emphasizing that these groups are most at risk for health threats.
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