Statement of David Yarnold, Audubon President & CEO, regarding proposed Upton, Inhofe legislation that would undermine Clean Air Act

“It’s outrageous that anyone would try to make a case for dirty air. But that’s exactly what those behind the flurry of extremist attacks on one of America’s most fundamental environmental laws aim to do. Radical legislation to undermine the Clean Air Act proposed by a handful of Congressmen including Representatives Upton (R-MI), Carter (R-TX), Senators Inhofe (R-OK), Barrasso (R-WY) and Rockefeller (D-WV) would harm kids with asthma and make our air less healthy to breathe. Is that really a good idea?

“Since it was enacted more than 40 years ago, the Clean Air Act has protected Americans, including children, seniors and the chronically ill, from dangerous pollutants that cause everything from asthma to cancer. And over those past 40 years, America’s economy has grown to become the most powerful in the world, showing that the Clean Air Act can protect our air and our health while also protecting our pocketbooks. These ill-conceived assaults on the act would endanger our future and sacrifice the health of our nation’s most vulnerable in favor of oil, gas, coal and other business interests.

“American citizens know better than to trust corporate polluters to keep the environment we depend on healthy and safe. That’s why a poll released today by the Opinion Research Corporation and the National Resources Defense Council shows that 77 percent of Americans—including a clear majority of Republicans (61 percent)—oppose efforts in Congress to block Clean Air Act updates for carbon, smog and other pollution.

“Audubon urges all Americans to tell their member of Congress they value clean air and the law that protects it, and to make sure the EPA has the authority to protect our children and our families from carbon pollution.”