Sen. Barbara Boxer warned Tuesday that more than 8,000 people will die every year if Congress passes the Republican-backed payroll tax cut bill — because it includes a provision that would delay regulations on industrial boilers.
That bill passed the House Tuesday evening on a 234-193 vote. As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared it “dead” on arrival, Boxer, D-Calif., and other Democratic senators lined up to assail the myriad riders that were attached to the bill as a means to win over conservative support.
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She said the GOP bill would lead to 8,100 “premature deaths” per year, 52,000 more asthma cases per year and 5,100 more heart attacks per year, in addition to hundreds of thousands of “lost work days.”
“Time and time again, House Republicans have added quote ‘poison pill’ unquote riders to must-pass legislation,” she said. “But this time these are really poison riders, because they are in essence saying we’ll have more poison in our atmosphere.”
I should warn you that you will probably lose a few brain cells if you watch this clip. Proceed at your own peril.
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