Dirty Air Act

Floor Speech

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, we are some 11 weeks into a new Congress and still we have not seen a single bill focused on job creation from the other side of the aisle. What are they focused on? Allowing big polluters a free pass to pollute the air we breathe and poison the water we drink.

In the pockets of Big Oil and Big Polluters, Republicans are advancing the Dirty Air Act, a radical bill that would undo over four decades of public health, scientific advancement, and pollution standards. The Dirty Air Act would ban EPA from exercising its role as the protector of our air and as the protector of our water.

For decades, the Clean Air Act has protected children from asthma and seniors from emphysema, while reducing our dependence on foreign oil. It has created jobs, and we simply cannot undo it.

My friends on the other side of the aisle should be focussed on America's priorities, that being job creation and economic growth. Instead, they remain committed to the deep pockets of the dirty energy industry.

What is more important, public health for our children and seniors or lining the pockets of the oil industry? I think the choice is very clear. I rise today in support of the Clean Air Act.

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