Statement of EDF President Fred Krupp On Actions by the House of Representatives the Week of July 5, 2011

“Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted against clean air and better health for all Americans. They decided to block two rules that would limit the dangerous mercury, smog and particulate-forming pollution from power plants. These clean air protections have been years in the making; now they want to delay the protections once more, and the delay could cost as many as 25,000 American lives in the first 14 months. We have the technology to reduce mercury and other pollution now, and save those lives. It’s unconscionable that House members want to do nothing.

“Then the House Appropriations Committee passed a laundry list of measures that are detrimental to human health and the environment. Those measures subvert the budget process to target everything from clean air rules to the Endangered Species Act.

“These actions by these two committees show that some House members are more interested in pushing an extreme agenda then in working on the serious issues facing our country. This is not the leadership that Americans expect, or deserve. Our Representatives should stop attacking the health and environmental laws that protect us all. They should focus on doing work that will improve our health, our environment, and our future.”

Fred Krupp
President, Environmental Defense Fund
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