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Senate Rejects Clean Air Rollback; But House Continues Assault on Environment
Senate Rejects Clean Air Rollback; But House Continues Assault on Environment
NRDC: “Bipartisan Senate Vote Is a Victory for Health, Clean Air and Common Sense”
WASHINGTON (June 20, 2012) – The Senate today stood up for Americans’ health by rejecting Sen. James Inhofe’s, R-Okla., effort to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s life-saving Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for power plants.
“Today’s bipartisan Senate vote is a victory for health, clean air and common sense,” said John Walke, clean air director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Despite fear mongering by the coal industry, some utilities and their allies, the Senate has rejected an irresponsible effort to repeal mercury and air toxics protections that are backed by science and required by law. The House Republican Leadership should take note and cease its efforts to undermine the Clean Air Act; efforts the public does not support.”
The Senate vote comes as the House is poised to take up a bill today that would eliminate the requirement that smog standards be based solely on health effects while also delaying other clean air standards. House bill H.R. 4480, the misnamed Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, would mandate that one quarter of eligible federal lands be leased for oil drilling each year and would make it more difficult to challenge oil leases and permits. The House could vote on the bill as early as today or on Thursday. The White House said Tuesday it would veto this bill.
http://www.nrdc.org/media/2012/120620.asp
NRDC: “Bipartisan Senate Vote Is a Victory for Health, Clean Air and Common Sense”
WASHINGTON (June 20, 2012) – The Senate today stood up for Americans’ health by rejecting Sen. James Inhofe’s, R-Okla., effort to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s life-saving Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for power plants.
“Today’s bipartisan Senate vote is a victory for health, clean air and common sense,” said John Walke, clean air director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Despite fear mongering by the coal industry, some utilities and their allies, the Senate has rejected an irresponsible effort to repeal mercury and air toxics protections that are backed by science and required by law. The House Republican Leadership should take note and cease its efforts to undermine the Clean Air Act; efforts the public does not support.”
The Senate vote comes as the House is poised to take up a bill today that would eliminate the requirement that smog standards be based solely on health effects while also delaying other clean air standards. House bill H.R. 4480, the misnamed Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, would mandate that one quarter of eligible federal lands be leased for oil drilling each year and would make it more difficult to challenge oil leases and permits. The House could vote on the bill as early as today or on Thursday. The White House said Tuesday it would veto this bill.
http://www.nrdc.org/media/2012/120620.asp
John Walke’s Blog
Meet the Senators Who Voted Themselves Into the Mercury & Toxic Air Pollution Hall of Shame or Fame
Today, 53 Senators stood up for clean air and healthy kids when they voted to reject Senator Jim Inhofe’s (R-OK) Congressional Review Act (CRA) legislation [pdf] to eliminate EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants. In a 53-46 vote against Inhofe's measure, the U.S. Senate championed healthy air, healthy kids, and common-sense lawmaking.
However, too many Senators put dirty power companies’ interests above the health of their constituents, condemning the families and communities in their states to more toxic air pollution, more smog, and more soot.
It’s appalling that anyone would vote to expose our children to more mercury, a dangerous brain poison, and over 80 other toxic air pollutants that power plants in the U.S. spew every day.
National limits on toxic air pollution such as mercury, lead, arsenic, acid gases and cancer-causing dioxins from power plants are more than a decade overdue. EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) will reduce emissions of mercury—a dangerous neurotoxin that harms children’s developing brains and nervous systems—by 90%. The health standards also will limit emissions of other air toxins that are known or suspected carcinogens.
- more -
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/mercury_and_toxic_pollution_ha_1.html
Meet the Senators Who Voted Themselves Into the Mercury & Toxic Air Pollution Hall of Shame or Fame
Today, 53 Senators stood up for clean air and healthy kids when they voted to reject Senator Jim Inhofe’s (R-OK) Congressional Review Act (CRA) legislation [pdf] to eliminate EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants. In a 53-46 vote against Inhofe's measure, the U.S. Senate championed healthy air, healthy kids, and common-sense lawmaking.
However, too many Senators put dirty power companies’ interests above the health of their constituents, condemning the families and communities in their states to more toxic air pollution, more smog, and more soot.
It’s appalling that anyone would vote to expose our children to more mercury, a dangerous brain poison, and over 80 other toxic air pollutants that power plants in the U.S. spew every day.
National limits on toxic air pollution such as mercury, lead, arsenic, acid gases and cancer-causing dioxins from power plants are more than a decade overdue. EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) will reduce emissions of mercury—a dangerous neurotoxin that harms children’s developing brains and nervous systems—by 90%. The health standards also will limit emissions of other air toxins that are known or suspected carcinogens.
- more -
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/mercury_and_toxic_pollution_ha_1.html
53 U.S. Senators Stand Up To Protect Public Health
By Jackie Weidman and Max Frankel
<...>
The opponents of S.J. Res 37 included Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). He bravely spoke against it, and emphasized the rule’s public health benefits. He chastised his colleagues who “shrug off the advice of the American Academy of Pediatricians” by minimizing the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard’s health benefits.
Senator Rockefeller noted that West Virginians need “real world solutions to protect the future of coal.” and not a “foolish action [that] wastes time and money,” such as trying to stop public health protections.
Despite the failure of his resolution, Senator Inhofe vowed to continue his anti-health crusade. He said
“Our fight is not over: we will continue to do everything possible to expose what the Obama-EPA’s damaging regulatory regime will do to destroy jobs and weaken our economy, and work every day in our efforts to stop President Obama’s war on oil, gas and coal.”
Sen. Inhofe is badly mistaken – with $4 billion in annual tax breaks for big oil companies, and no reductions in carbon pollution from existing power plants, there is hardly a war on our fossil fuel energy supply. But, unfortunately, today 45 Senators joined Sen. Inhofe’s war on our children’s health.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/06/20/503375/53-us-senators-stand-up-to-protect-public-health/
By Jackie Weidman and Max Frankel
<...>
The opponents of S.J. Res 37 included Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). He bravely spoke against it, and emphasized the rule’s public health benefits. He chastised his colleagues who “shrug off the advice of the American Academy of Pediatricians” by minimizing the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard’s health benefits.
Senator Rockefeller noted that West Virginians need “real world solutions to protect the future of coal.” and not a “foolish action [that] wastes time and money,” such as trying to stop public health protections.
Despite the failure of his resolution, Senator Inhofe vowed to continue his anti-health crusade. He said
“Our fight is not over: we will continue to do everything possible to expose what the Obama-EPA’s damaging regulatory regime will do to destroy jobs and weaken our economy, and work every day in our efforts to stop President Obama’s war on oil, gas and coal.”
Sen. Inhofe is badly mistaken – with $4 billion in annual tax breaks for big oil companies, and no reductions in carbon pollution from existing power plants, there is hardly a war on our fossil fuel energy supply. But, unfortunately, today 45 Senators joined Sen. Inhofe’s war on our children’s health.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/06/20/503375/53-us-senators-stand-up-to-protect-public-health/
Rockefeller needs to have a chat with Manchin.
