Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) has a problem with the EPA -- They aren't doing the job which he voted to defund!
On Wednesday, Barletta sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson asking the agency to perform additional testing in the Carroll/Mill Street neighborhood.[...]“Frankly, this is unacceptable. The EPA’s own Web site indicates that one of the agency’s primary reasons for existence is to ensure that ‘all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work.’”[...]
“I was surprised to hear an EPA official basically tell the residents of the Carroll/Mill neighborhood that they would not conduct soil and water testing to find answers. It is absolutely the EPA’s job, and I’m going to make sure that job is done. The residents are scared, and they deserve answers and peace of mind.”
Barletta is going to make sure the job is done by voting to defund the agency responsible for that job. A brilliantly conceived plan rivaled only by the machinations of Wile E. Coyote and his ACME rockets.
Back in February, leading up to a possible government shutdown over the remainder of fiscal 2011 , Lou Barletta voted in favor of the Republican budget which would have cut $60 billion dollars in spending while also gutting entire programs such as Planned Parenthood and the EPA.
Did Lou Barletta forget voting to kill the EPA, or did his evil twin gag and stuff him in a closet and then race off to vote for it?
The environmental problems facing the residents of Barletta's district are a shinning example for why we need the Environmental Protection Agency, and it's another reason added to a long list of many justifying increased regulation of emissions. It was increased regulation of emissions which rubbed Republicans the wrong way and inspired them to vote in favor of defunding the EPA, and unfortunately for them, that vote will stay with them as their constituents are poisoned.