Commentary

NRDC: House GOP Begins Latest Assault on Health, Environmental Protections

Subcommittee’s Expected Passage of Two Anti-Environment Bills Just the Beginning

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WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)–September 13, 2011.  With a U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce subcommittee poised to pass two bills that would derail new standards designed to protect Americans from mercury and other lethal toxic emissions from cement kilns and industrial boilers, NRDC climate and air legislative director Franz Matzner made the following comment:

“It’s official: House Republicans have fired the opening shot in their latest war against our environmental and health protections. Instead of focusing on jobs and the economy, they are busy stopping the cleanup of air pollution that costs lives and robs consumers by raising health care costs.

“Up next, according to the plan recently released by House Majority Leader  Rep. Eric Cantor, are a series of assaults on protections that studies show would prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths and untold illnesses and save billions of dollars in medical bills and lost worker productivity.

“And for what? Creating more pollution does not create more jobs – and it certainly doesn’t make America healthier. All this does is gives House Republicans another way to please big corporate donors and Tea Party extremists.”

For NRDC President Frances Beinecke’s recent blog on Rep. Cantor’s 10-point plan to gut environmental and health protections, see: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/fbeinecke/gop_repackages_old_attacks_on.html

For NRDC’s Clean Air Director, John Walke’s blog on the legislation in the House Energy & Commerce Energy and Power Subcommittee today, see http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/oppose_the_mercury_pollution_a.html

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org

Source: nrdc.org

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