Lower Energy Costs Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1, the polluters over people act.

Besides increasing the deficit by $2.4 billion, this bill eviscerates bedrock environmental protections.

These protections are in place for a reason. My community has been stifled by decades of environmental abuses, and as a result, economic growth in many areas is a challenge and the health and safety of my constituents are at risk.

My district was once a thriving manufacturing community, but factories dumped waste in rivers, buried toxic materials, and disposed of materials with no oversight. Now my district is littered with abandoned factories, fragile ecosystems, and unusable land.

Sites once used for industrial, manufacturing, or commercial uses have been abandoned or underutilized due to known or suspected contamination of the past.

Environmental liabilities have been preventing developers and investors from restoring these properties to productive use and revitalizing impacted communities.

During my time in Congress, I have fought to bring back millions of dollars to my district for brownfield remediation in places like Waterbury, New Britain, and Torrington. Places where asthma-related illnesses are on the rise as a direct result of environmental factors.

We are working to clean decades of pollution in the rivers of the Housatonic, Naugatuck, and Farmington valleys. These once-blighted properties have been transformed into fisheries, art spaces, and even affordable housing.

After years of hard work, we were able to secure wild and scenic designations for miles of rivers in Connecticut. My State is literally beginning to breathe again.

This legislation rolls back environmental protections and regulations and gives billions in handouts to Big Oil and Gas.

In Connecticut's Fifth, we are learning hard lessons about cleaning up environmental messes of the past.

Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on this dangerous and harmful legislation, and for us to listen to the science and follow what we already know to be true.

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