Attack on the Clean Air Act
The Endangerment Finding
The Clean Air Act, originally passed in 1973 and amended in 1990, was designed to protect our public health and environment and has successfully done so for nearly 40 years. This hallmark legislation is currently under attack in Congress.
The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate emissions of pollutants that "endanger public health and welfare." In 2007, the Supreme Court affirmed EPA's authority to regulate global warming gases (also known as greenhouse gases) as a pollutant if the Agency determined, after thorough scientific investigation, that these gases endanger public health. EPA scientific staff conducted this investigation under the Bush administration, but the White House prevented the Agency from issuing a finding.
Under the Obama Administration, after evaluating the latest climate science, the EPA finally released the "endangerment finding" in December 2009, highlighting the public health implications of unabated global warming emissions. These include: longer heat waves that harm the sick, poor, and elderly; extreme weather events that can lead to death and injuries; and increases in ground-level ozone linked to respiratory illnesses like asthma.
In January, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) along with 40 co-sponsors, proposed a resolution to reject this science-based endangerment finding and prevent the EPA from protecting the public's health by curbing global warming. Specifically, the resolution would have stopped EPA from requiring that new coal-fired power plants and other large emitters use modern technology to reduce their global warming pollution. In addition, this resolution would have stoped EPA from doing any research or analysis on climate science in its efforts to implement the endangerment finding. See the Statement of Administration Policy threatening to veto the Murkowski resolution if it had passed, and Senator Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) statement after the Senate voted to reject the Murkowski resolution in the Related Resources list on the right hand side of this page. Fortunately, the Senate defeated this resolution on June 10. Multiple times during the debate, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) mentioned UCS’ statement signed by more than 1,900 scientists who oppose the attacks on the Clean Air Act.
Unfortunately, even with the defeat of the Murkowski resolution the attacks on the Clean Air Act will continue. In March, Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced legislation that would delay EPA regulation of global warming pollution for 2 years. The bill now has 6 co-sponsors, and may well come to a vote before the end of the year. The authority of the EPA to reduce global warming pollutions is also under attack in the Senate Appropriations Committee. An amendment to delay EPA regulation will likely be offered to the Senate FY11 Interior Appropriations bill. We expect a vote on the amendment in the full Senate Appropriation Committee in the coming weeks. In the House of Representatives, members have introduced 7 bills that would delay or undermine the EPAs ability to regulate global warming emissions.
The Clean Air Act is a law with a nearly 40-year track record of cutting dangerous pollution to protect human health and the environment and to spur innovation. This legislation has prevented more than 400,000 premature deaths and hundreds of millions of cases of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Instead of standing in the way of progress, Congress should allow the EPA to protect the public’s health from global warming while also enacting the comprehensive climate and energy legislation the country needs to build a clean energy economy, create jobs, protect the environment, and ensure a healthy future for our families.
