Senators Cornyn and Hutchison Sign onto New Attack on Texans’ Public Health & Environment

AUSTIN — Senators Cornyn and Hutchison yesterday joined Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) in introducing a bill that wages a sweeping assault on Texans’ public health and the Clean Air Act.  The new bill is in line with similar recent attacks on America’s clean air and clean water, including the original funding bill passed by the House of Representatives on February 19, which blocks EPA’s limits on dangerous carbon dioxide pollution.  The Upton-Inhofe bill (H.R. 910 in the House and a companion bill in the Senate) would not only block EPA from cleaning up carbon dioxide pollution from the largest pollution sources, but would also overturn scientific findings regarding the threats posed by global warming and even block states from moving ahead with their own clean car standards. 

Environment Texas Field Organizer Alejandro Savransky issued the following statement in response:

“I am dismayed, yet not surprised. that Senators Cornyn and Hutchison have launched a brazen attack on Texans’ public health and our environment.  By doing the bidding of America’s biggest polluters, they are placing the health of our children, elderly citizens and other vulnerable populations at risk.  The EPA and the Clean Air Act—and state level programs—have been protecting public health and the environment from dangerous pollution for decades and this success should be built upon, not torn down.

“Global warming presents serious threats to Texans’ health, our economy, and our future.  The year 2010 tied as the hottest year on record globally, and if left unchecked, global warming will lead to more deadly heat waves, more unhealthy air days, the spread of infectious disease, and more frequent and intense storms.  But while EPA scientists have recognized the threats posed by global warming, the Upton-Inhofe bill would overturn such findings, essentially saying that Congress knows climate science better than the climate scientists themselves.  

“Rather than heeding the science and letting the EPA and the states do their job to protect public health and our environment, our own Seantors Cornyn and Hutchison and others in Congress are trying to give the biggest polluters a free pass to keep polluting and threatening our health.  Congress should reject these attacks and instead stand up for cleaner air and a healthier future.”