I attended a Sierra Club rally [on September 27] in downtown Philadelphia in protest of U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s plans to wipe out basic public health protections against life-threatening pollution such as arsenic, carbon dioxide, coal ash, soot, smog and toxic mercury.
I was joined by over 50 other Pennsylvanians who are outraged at this attack on public health and the environment. Based on polls I have read I believe most Pennsylvanians agree with us. Even Governor Rendell was there to lend his voice and support to our cause!
Pollution Hurts Economy
Cantor and far right Republicans claim their plan will boost the economy by creating jobs, but in reality, it will cost hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money and tens of thousands of lives! The bedrock public health protections his plan will dismantle will hurt the economy, making it even tougher for families to make ends meet – forcing many Americans to collectively miss millions of days of work each year to care for sick family members or for themselves. It will also waste billions of taxpayer dollars treating preventable illness and disease caused by pollution, and will further burden American families and businesses with out-of-pocket medical costs and higher health insurance premiums.
Hurting The EPA Hurts Us
The Environmental Protection Agency has a critical role to play in protecting the public from toxic mercury and asthma attacks brought on by smog pollution, and in keeping our air and water safe and clean. But Rep. Cantor wont’ let the EPA do what it was created to accomplish. His plan will put American lives at risk to score political points with polluters and Congress should reject these polluter-led attacks on the health of our families, children and communities and focus on real solutions that can grow the economy.
By preserving the basic clean air and clean water protections that Americans have counted on for decades, we can ensure healthy families and a strong economy
Clean Environment Critical To Our Future
As a new grandma, with a grandson, 2 ½, and a granddaughter, 4 months, there is nothing more important to me than insuring that this planet we inhabit will continue to have clean air, water and land. It is imperative that we continue to support the EPA and all its efforts to protect these resources for all of us - now and for the future.
TRAIN Act Wrecks Environment
Regrettably, a majority of members of the U.S. House recently passed the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act, which would seriously undermine the EPA's efforts to promote clean air. We can only hope that it will not pass the Senate. Everything great that we aspire to as individuals and as a nation depends on the Earth remaining a healthy planet. I urge everyone to please tell their elected officials that to oppose the TRAIN Act and any attempts to weaken the EPA
On September 23, Congressmen Jim Gerlach, Patrick Meehan, and Mike Fitzpatrick, helped the US House of Representatives succeed in passing the Train Act (H.R. 2401). This anti-clean air legislation intended to thwart EPA regulations and shut down the ability of the EPA to carry out its mandate would, among other things, indefinitely delay (until 2018) two critical and long-awaited air pollution standards, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. Furthermore, setting of standards would require consideration of the economic impact on polluters and would no longer be based solely on the expert opinion of the medical and scientific community. This legislation is a disastrous setback to the environment and to our health.
The EPA Has Saved Lives
The EPA, established under Republican President Richard Nixon in response to a series of environmental disasters, has been enormously effective in providing air quality and health benefits. Through its landmark clean air programs, the EPA has been responsible for preventing 1.7 million asthma exacerbations and 160,000 deaths in 2010 alone. The EPA is not a “rogue agency” responsible for high-priced energy, loss of jobs, or dependence on foreign fossil fuels. Let’s let the EPA do its job unencumbered by political rhetoric and the moneyed influence of big polluters, and let us remember the actions of these congressmen at the voting booth.
I recently attended a rally in downtown Philadelphia to draw attention to U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's plans to wipe out basic public health protections against life-threatening pollution such as toxic mercury, arsenic, soot, smog, carbon dioxide and coal ash. I was joined by over 50 other like-minded Pennsylvanians and our message touched hundreds of others.
Outrage at TRAIN Act
I was absolutely outraged that this attack on public health and the environment was ever formalized into a bill, let alone that the Republican majority in the House passed it. Based on polls I have read, I believe most Pennsylvanians agree with us but I am very concerned that many are not aware of what is happening. In fact, over 70% of the country and a majority of Republicans say protecting the environment is critical.
Costs of TRAIN Act
Cantor and extremist Republicans claim their plan will create jobs, but in reality, it will cost tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money. His plan to dismantle critical public health protections will hurt the economy and make it tougher for families to make ends meet – forcing Americans to collectively miss millions of days of work each year to care for sick family members or for themselves. It will also waste billions of taxpayer dollars treating preventable illness and disease caused by pollution, and will further burden American families and businesses with out-of-pocket medical costs and higher health insurance premiums.
Public Health At Risk
The Environmental Protection Agency has a critical role to play in protecting the public from toxic mercury, asthma attacks brought on by smog pollution and keeping our air and water safe and clean. Rep. Cantor wants to put American lives at risk to score political points with polluters and Congress should reject these polluter-led attacks on the health of our communities, families and children and focus on real solutions that grow the economy.
We Need The EPA
By preserving the basic clean air and clean water protections that Americans have counted on for decades, we can ensure healthy families and a strong economy. Before Pennsylvania has even met the much-needed standards of the Clean Air Act, Cantor and his cronies are seeking, through a series of legislative measures, to frack the bedrock upon which the foundations of existing environmental policies rest. This cannot stand. To draw a timely comparison, if the Environmental Protection Agency's role as a protector of the environment is dismantled, a shining stone of hope will be crumbled into a mountain of despair. I would hope all will support the EPA, and their power to breathe, with their power to vote!
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