Van Hollen: STREAM Act Vote a Gift to Big Polluters

Statement

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, a founding co-chair of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus, released the following statement on the House vote on the STREAM Act, a bill that would weaken the Administration's Clean Water Act Rule and allow more pollution to contaminate our waterways:

"Speaker Ryan started the year with promises of a new agenda focused on the needs of the American people, but he has quickly turned his back on that effort. Instead, the Tea Party decided that protecting polluters was more important than protecting communities from toxic mountaintop mining waste that is proven to raise rates of cancer, birth defects, lung disease, and heart disease. Following last week's shameful vote to take healthcare options away from millions of women and families, it's clear that the Tea Party agenda of this Congress is focused on the needs of big corporations and big polluters, not the health and economic well-being of American families who are working harder than ever to get ahead."

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