Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chair, according to the American Lung Association's 2015 State of the Air Report, the Los Angeles metropolitan area, which includes both my district and also the Appropriations Subcommittee chair's district, that metropolitan area is the number one in the country for ozone pollution.

But ozone pollution is not just a southern California problem. The report shows that more than 40 percent of the United States' population lives in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone. Large cities like Houston and less populated areas like northwest Ohio also make the list.

Power plants, motor vehicles, and chemical solvents contribute to the majority of nitrous oxides and volatile organic compounds, NO X and VOCs, which react with each other on hot, sunny days to produce ground level ozone.

The American Lung Association has pointed out that because hot, sunny days produce the most ozone, climate change is increasing the number of unhealthy ozone level days. We are all familiar with those ``high ozone level'' warnings that happen on really hot, sunny days, and unfortunately, they are becoming more and more common due to global warming.

Ground level ozone interacts with lung tissue, can cause major problems for children, the elderly, and anyone with lung disease. Ozone is known to aggravate health problems such as asthma, and it is also linked to low birth rates, cardiovascular problems, and premature death.

Given the grave consequences and the widespread problem of ozone pollution, I am glad that EPA is moving forward with updates to its national standards for ozone pollution.

Members of the medical and health communities have been calling for a long time for updates of this standard in order to protect the public health. The current standard of 75 parts per billion is outdated and does not adequately protect public health, which is what the EPA is required to do under the Clean Air Act. Thousands of hospital visits and premature deaths and up to a million missed schooldays can be prevented just by strengthening this standard.

But instead of trusting health professionals, some in Congress have decided to protect the financial interests of the polluters. The reckless legislative rider in section 438 of this appropriations bill blocks the EPA from updating or even proposing scientifically-based standards for ozone to the detriment of the health of at least 40 percent of the U.S. population.

I urge my colleagues to vote to remove this polluter protecting section from the bill, to support the Edwards amendment, and allow the EPA to move forward with doing what they are required to do by law, and that is protect the public health.

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Mr. Chairman, let's just talk about why we need to change the standard.

I understand and appreciate that reaching that standard is going to take some work, but remember, the air, by saying that we don't need to do this because the air is cleaner than it was 30 years ago, for example, does nothing to put current air quality in context. Just because the air is cleaner than it used to be doesn't mean that it is completely healthy.

My district is a great example of this. L.A. County has reduced its ground ozone by 5 days since 2009, and I am proud of that, but it doesn't mean our air is healthy. We still experienced 217 days of unhealthy ozone level days last year.

We need to take into account current pollution levels. We need to use the best science available to determine what standards are needed to get our ozone pollution below those unhealthy levels. That is why we are doing this, to get the ozone below unhealthy levels. That is what EPA is doing, and we shouldn't block their efforts because we think that the air is cleaner or it is difficult to reach.

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