Capps Works to Protect Clean Air Act and Public Health from Continued Attacks
Press Release
Today Congresswoman Lois Capps (CA-23) decried the advancement in the House of two bills, H.R. 2681 and H.R. 2550 that continue attempts to gut the Clean Air Act and put the public health at risk. The bills would block smart new protections against the emissions of mercury and other toxic chemicals from cement kilns, industrial boilers and incinerators, which represent three of the largest sources of mercury emissions in the country. A fact sheet on H.R. 2681 is available here. A fact sheet on H.R 2550 is available here.
Capps offered amendments to both bills that would have illustrated the much studied health benefits that EPA's mercury and air toxics cleanup standards would achieve. The rules the bills would block are expected to prevent as many as 9,000 premature deaths, 6,500 heart attacks, 5,300 hospital and emergency room visits, and 440,000 of missed work or school days each year. The amendments failed in largely partisan votes.
These efforts to gut long studied efforts to improve public health by reducing the amount of mercury and other toxins in our air and water clean are extremely misguided. Reducing pollution from giant cement kilns and industrial boilers are proven strategies to reduce asthma attacks, cancer and premature deaths, lowering overall healthcare costs by billions of dollars. In addition to the health benefits to be gained, these proposals to reduce mercury and other toxic emissions would put Americans to work cleaning up dirty power plants and cement kilns," said Capps.
Also, due to her leadership in working to protect the public health from mercury poisoning, Capps offered the final amendment to HR 2681. Capps' amendment would have required safer air standards on giant cement plants near schools, day care centers, or hospitals with a maternity ward or neo-natal unit. The amendment would also give communities the "right to know" what pollution is coming from these cement plants if the plant operators choose not to adopt the clean air standards that are stopped by this bill. The amendment was defeated in a party line vote.
Source