{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/opening-statement-of-rep-diana-degette-ranking-member-of-subcommittee-on", "Opening Statement of Rep. Diana DeGette, Ranking Member of Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations", "2016-12-06", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Thank you, Mr. Chairman.\u00a0\nThis is the last EPA hearing this Committee will hold with the Obama Administration.\nThe EPA has not always received the support it deserves from Congress.\u00a0Even as the Agency has worked to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment, it has faced criticism and attack.\nDespite sometimes unfair opposition, EPA has commendably responded to unprecedented environmental challenges facing the country and the planet.\u00a0I would like to highlight some of the agency\u2019s accomplishments.\u00a0Under the Obama Administration:\n The EPA has helped bring more than 190 countries together to adopt the Paris Agreement, now considered the most ambitious climate change agreement in history;\n\tThe EPA has set new standards to reduce mercury and other pollutants from industrial air pollution, including boilers, cement plants, and large waste incinerators;\n\tThe EPA has enacted the first-ever fuel economy standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks and put in place new fuel standards for passenger vehicles by the year 2025;\n\tAnd, the EPA has developed the Clean Power Plan, which will play a major role in reducing carbon pollution and enhancing air quality.\n I would like to thank both of our witnesses for your agency\u2019s work.\nI would also like to commend both of you for your work on the Volkswagen settlement agreement, which we are here to discuss today.\u00a0I am supportive of efforts to scrutinize this agreement and ensure that VW is held accountable, and I want to ensure that is the purpose of today\u2019s hearing.\u00a0\nWe are here because of VW\u2019s decision to cheat.\u00a0For years, VW put tens of thousands of cars on the road that emitted nearly 40 times the NOx levels allowed by law.\u00a0VW\u2019s decision hurt not only its own customers, who thought they were buying clean cars, but all Americans now faced with dirtier air.\u00a0\nThe California Air Resources Board, the EPA, and the Department of Justice quickly brought action against VW.\u00a0Their aim was to both make VW\u2019s customers whole and to mitigate the effect that these cars are having on the environment.\nThe Obama Administration recently reached a partial settlement with VW to accomplish a mitigation strategy.\u00a0The settlement, which addresses only 2.0-liter diesel vehicles, requires that VW spend nearly $15 billion to settle allegations of cheating emission tests and deceiving customers.\u00a0It also orders VW to remove from commerce in the United States or perform an approved emissions modification on the vast majority of the affected vehicles.\u00a0Finally, it requires VW to designate a $2.7 billion mitigation trust fund to pay for NOx reduction projects and invest $2 billion in charging infrastructure for zero emission vehicles.\nI applaud EPA for its work.\u00a0They have taken meaningful steps to make consumers whole and reverse the harm that was caused to the environment.\nAs I said, I support efforts to investigate this settlement.\u00a0But I believe we cannot fully understand the issues if VW is not represented here.\u00a0They were the perpetrators of the fraud that necessitated this action in the first place.\u00a0We need to hear how they will be following through on their new commitments to do right by their customers and the American people.\u00a0I would encourage the Committee to hold a future hearing with VW at the table, possibly joined by some other companies and individuals affected by this settlement.\u00a0\nI want to conclude with a message about the next Congress.\u00a0As we are all aware, the President-elect has not been supportive of the EPA\u2019s mission.\u00a0 He has promised to abolish the agency and to back out of global treaties to reduce greenhouse gases.\u00a0 He has declared climate change a hoax.\u00a0\nThese statements should give us pause.\u00a0There is undeniable proof of climate change.\u00a0Our planet is getting hotter.\u00a0Natural disasters are more frequent and more severe.\u00a0Sea ice is at record lows.\u00a0We need a strong EPA to address these challenges and to work with our international partners to ensure the whole world takes these problems seriously.\u00a0\nSo as this year winds down and we look toward the 115th Congress, it is incredibly important that this Committee support the EPA in its critical role. This Committee has the tradition of working in a bipartisan way to work in the public interest.\u00a0 This should include addressing environmental challenges before it\u2019s too late.\u00a0I hope we can work together to accomplish this mission.\nI thank our witnesses for being here today and for your agency\u2019s work.\u00a0 I applaud your work on this settlement to ensure consumers and the environment are protected.\u00a0And more broadly, I thank the Obama Administration as a whole for its work in prioritize environmental issues and make the world safer and healthier for future generations.\nThank you.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/opening-statement-of-rep-diana-degette-ranking-member-of-subcommittee-on"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4808990526944399, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}