Waxman Slams Anti-EPA Bill, Says Republicans Are In Denial

By Rachel Christiansen

The top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee warned Monday that GOP-led efforts to limit the EPA will endanger America’s environment and will continue its dependence on foreign oil.

During an event at the Center for American Progress in Washington, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) called Republicans the “party of science deniers” and blasted a bill sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton, the chairman of Waxman’s committee, that would prohibit the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

GOP leaders have long assailed Democratic attempts to reduce emissions through either legislation or regulation. From a broader context, many on Capitol Hill — including some Democrats — are torn on whether there is verified scientific data proving that global warming is caused by man-made greenhouse emissions.

Not Waxman, though.

“Republicans in Congress can’t cure cancer by passing a bill that declares smoking safe. And they can’t stop climate change by declaring it a hoax,” he said.

Waxman repeatedly listed the potential environmental dangers associated with not regulating carbon emissions or protecting air and water from such pollution. 

“It apparently no longer matters in Congress what health experts and scientists think. All that seems to matter is what Koch Industries thinks,” Waxman said, referring to the billionaire brothers who have helped fund the campaign against climate legislation. The California Democrat, who, as former chairman of the committee, helped pass a cap-and-trade bill that ultimately died in the Senate, did admit, however, that the Upton bill will likely pass the House.

Nonetheless, Waxman said Democrats should continue to appeal to the public to support the EPA. He later pointed to several extreme weather instances that some scientists have attributed to climate change, such as the fatal floods last year in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and even Pakistan and Australia, as proof that increased regulation is necessary.