In the 1990s , in keeping with his opposition to environmental regulation , DeLay criticized proposals to phase out the use of chlorofluorocarbons ( CFCs ) , which lead to the depletion of the ozone layer . In 1995 , DeLay introduced a bill to revoke the CFC ban and to repeal provisions of the Clean Air Act dealing with stratospheric ozone , arguing that the science underlying the ban was debatable . DeLay opposes the teaching of evolution . After the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 , he entered into the '' Congressional Record '' a statement saying that shootings happened in part " because our school systems teach our children that they are nothing but glorified apes who have evolutionized out of some primordial soup of mud . " In 2001 , DeLay refused to increase the Earned Income Credit ( EIC ) tax credit , thereby defying President George W. Bush , during the congressional battle over Bush 's tax cuts for people making between $ 10,500 and $ 26,625 a year ; when reporters asked DeLay about what he would do about increasing the EIC , DeLay simply stated , " It ai n't going to happen . " When Bush 's press secretary Ari Fleischer reiterated the president 's desire for a low-income tax cut , DeLay retorted , " The last time I checked they the executive branch do n't have a vote . " In 2003 , DeLay blamed Senate Democrats and what he called " BANANA ( Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything ) environmentalists " for blocking legislative solutions to problems such as the 2003 North America blackout
Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
Tom DeLay