Doris O. Matsui

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.J. Res. 210. Once again, congressional Republicans are doing everything they can to harm the health of Californians for seemingly no other reason than to score political points. Large cargo ships and oil tankers are a major source of pollution for communities living and working around California's ports. More than 30 percent of all container cargo arriving in the U.S. passes through California's ports, and that is a lot of ships. When those ships dock at California's ports, they are running diesel generators day and night. That creates a lot of pollution, and that pollution has serious health impacts on the communities that live around our ports. Like many industrial areas, communities living around ports are often disadvantaged, minority communities who are overburdened with pollution from many different sources, so this is also an environmental justice issue. That is why California has taken commonsense steps to regulate pollution for large ocean-going vessels. The solution is very simple. We are not talking about some futuristic, science fiction technology. We just want to plug it in and run the ship on electricity supplied by the port. This is 100 percent feasible and, in fact, most industries are already in compliance. This simple solution is expected to reduce cancer risk in communities living near major ports by as much as 55 percent and save $2.3 billion in public health costs. California's regulations are saving lives. They are saving money. They are achievable and, most importantly, they don't impact any other States whatsoever. Once again, I have to wonder why are congressional Republicans attacking California's port pollution regulations other than to score points in a cynical, political game. It is playing with Californians' lives, and we won't stand for it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.