Speaker Emerita Pelosi Floor Speech on the Republicans’ Attack on Vehicle Emission Standards

Washington, D.C. – Today, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of H.R. 1435, the so-called "Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act."  Below are the Speaker Emerita's remarks.

Speaker Emerita Pelosi.  Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose this – Republicans' latest assault on the health and safety of our children.

Every child deserves clean air to breathe.  We in California believe this is our sacred duty.  That is why our state has taken strong action to reduce vehicle pollution, preserve our environment and protect our children. 

So I just have one question for our colleagues across the aisle: why?  Why don't you want children to have cleaner air to breathe?  Why don't you understand what this means to their health?  Why do you not understand the connection between pollution and asthma and how unfair that is to children in our population? 

That's why, more than five decades ago, this Congress acted to preserve California's authority to protect our children and has repeatedly re-authorized that since.  Despite this precedent, this bill would restrict the ability of states like California to protect families from dangerous pollution. 

It's important for people to understand that, as the gentlelady pointed out, this is at the discretion of the states.  Seventeen states have decided that they would use such a waiver in order to protect the children and the air that they breathe.  So why would you want to throw the American auto industry into disarray, diminishing [our] leadership in the electric vehicle future? 

You know, Mr. Speaker, as the gentlelady referenced, it's an economic decision the auto industry makes.  We have in this body – in the Democratic Majority – come to the aid of the auto industry.  Not corporations, but the industry and the workers.  And we want our auto industry to be preeminent in the world. 

California is a very big market for the auto industry.  For fifty years, they have lived with this emission standard, this waiver that enables that to happen.  If you're making cars for California, it's easier then to make the same safe cars for the rest of the country because it's a big market in California.  And sixteen other states have followed suit, representing at least forty percent of new auto purchases in our country.  A big chunk of our auto industry economy. 

So again, what would be the reason that you would interfere into the free market of the auto industry?  Into the free breathing of our children of cleaner air?  The only explanation could be that Big Oil opposes this legislation.  They are so living in the past.  They don't even realize it that the future is upon us, and the future is For The Children. 

With that, I urge a 'no' on this rule and yield back the balance of my time.