Sens. Carper, Boxer and EPW Colleagues' Statement on Inhofe/Upton Bill that Would Permanently Block Protections from Carbon Pollution

Legislation would put public health of children and families at risk say senators

March 3, 2011
WASHINGTON - Today Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), with Senator Barbara Boxer
(D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and
other EPW Committee members released the following statement in response
to a bill introduced today by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) in the Senate
and Representative Fred Upton (R-MI) in the House that would hamstring
the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to implement the Clean Air
Act and permanently block the agency from curbing carbon pollution from
the nation's largest polluters. The Inhofe-Upton bill would block EPA
from complying with the U.S. Supreme Court's direction to address carbon
pollution under the Clean Air Act.

Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Chair of the Subcommittee on Clean Air and
Nuclear Safety, said: "The legislation introduced today is
short-sighted and politically driven, and would be harmful to the health
and well-being of all Americans. I respectfully disagree with the
approach taken by some of my House and Senate colleagues to deny the EPA
the ability to protect American's health by regulating harmful carbon
air pollution emissions. This debate is about whether we are we going to
be guided by decades of science from thousands of respected scientists
and seize this opportunity to lead the world in the emerging clean
energy economy, or are we going to turn our back on the science and wait
on the sidelines. The EPA's clean air programs have repeatedly shown
huge returns for the investment in lives saved, reduced health care
costs, and clean energy jobs. I believe a responsible approach to
regulating carbon pollution will yield similar benefits for public
health and our economic bottom line and that's what we should focus on
moving forward."

Senator Boxer said: "This bill is an assault on the Clean Air Act and
threatens the health and well-being of all Americans. One of EPA's core
missions is to protect children and families from dangerous air
pollution, and it is irresponsible to prevent EPA from holding major
industrial polluters accountable. As recent polls have shown, including
one by the American Lung Association, this bill is out of step with the
American public who strongly support environmental safeguards."

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Chair of the Subcommittee on Superfund,
Toxics and Environmental Health, said: "These attacks on the Clean Air
Act will take us back to a time when public health took a backseat to
big polluters. EPA must be allowed to follow the advice of its
scientists and set air pollution standards that protect our health and
the health of our children."

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chair of the Subcommittee on Water and
Wildlife, said: "Scientists, citizens, and even the Supreme Court have
spoken: EPA should regulate air pollution and safeguard human health.
This legislation is a direct assault on the Clean Air Act, and I will
fight it with every legislative tool available."

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), Chair of the Subcommittee on Children's Health
and Environmental Responsibility, said: "It's simple -- this bill would
undermine the Clean Air Act in order to protect polluters, not people.
The Supreme Court and the best climate science compelled the
Environmental Protection Agency to act and protect the health and
welfare of our citizens. Legislation to derail that effort is highly
misguided."

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said: "We need strong protections for
the air we breathe and the water we drink. These extreme attacks on the
Clean Air Act protect polluters while putting the public health at risk.
There is overwhelming, nationwide support for the Clean Air Act. This
assault on our environmental protections moves us in the wrong
direction."

Background:

As required by law, EPA is working to reduce air pollution by setting
out a modest, incremental and flexible plan for the largest polluters in
the country, which will improve the health of American families and
children. In its April 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, the
Supreme Court said:

"Because greenhouse gases fit well within the Clean Air Act's capacious
definition of 'air pollutant,' we hold that EPA has the statutory
authority to regulate the emission of such gasses..."

EPA's long history of successfully implementing the Clean Air Act was
reflected in a recent report showing that the Clean Air Act prevented
160,000 cases of premature deaths in the year 2010 alone. By 2020, that
number is projected to rise to 230,000 premature deaths. EPA also
reports that the number of asthma attacks prevented by Clean Air Act
programs is expected to increase from 1.7 million in 2010 to 2.4 million
in the next decade. Exposure to air pollution can trigger asthma
attacks, lost days at school and work, emergency room visits, heart
attacks, strokes, cancer, and premature deaths.