U.S. House casts 220th anti-environmental vote

Environment America

Washington, DC– Yesterday afternoon, the U.S. House approved two packages of environmental rollbacks, H.R. 2 and H.R. 4. Added to last week’s vote to block clean water safeguards, the move marks the 220th vote of this Congress against air and water protections. Environment America’s Anna Aurilio issued the following statement in response:

“We’re disappointed, but not surprised, that the U.S. House has approved another witch’s brew of incentives, exemptions, and rollbacks for Big Oil, Big Coal, and other polluters.

“H.R. 2 slows our progress towards clean power and keeps us hooked on dirty energy. It expedites the dangerous Keystone XL pipeline, expands oil drilling on our public lands and off our coasts, and weakens already-inadequate protections against fracking, which has contaminated drinking water and made people sick across the country. It’s especially disheartening that H.R. 2 blocks EPA’s Clean Power Plan, since our new report shows that U.S. power plants alone are the nation’s third largest carbon polluters, ahead of the entire economy of India and every other nation but China.

“Among other harms, H.R. 4 would result in a massive increase in logging of national forests across the country, fracturing wildlife habitat and threatening our drinking water supplies.

“We’re thankful to all the members of Congress who stood up against these senseless attacks on our air and water, and voted in favor a greener, cleaner, healthier future.”