"Clean Air" senators stand up for science and public health

First post by 1Sky Policy Fellow Julie Erickson. – Alex B.

Last week, 1Sky fought back against Senator Lisa Murkowski's (R-AK) extreme efforts to gut the Clean Air Act. Joining us were a host of committed allies and some especially outspoken "Clean Air" senators who are joining us in the fight against big polluters.

Last Thursday, immediately after Murkowski announced her plan to introduce a "resolution of disapproval," all 12 Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held an emergency press conference in which they spoke out decisively against the measure.

According to Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), "this is the first time that a senator has tried to overturn a scientific health ruling." Boxer described Senator Murkowski's attack as a blatant and unprecedented rejection of climate science, even of climatological studies completed under the Bush Administration. She also compared Murkowski's effort to overturning the finding that lead paint is harmful to brain development in children.

In a blog post last Thursday, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) described Murkowski's attack as, "a proposal to brazenly overturn sound scientific work done by our nation’s leading public health experts," and "a political stunt designed to effectively strip the EPA's power to curb harmful air pollution."

Many senators refuted Murkowski's claims that using the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions poses a threat to the economy. Instead, they asserted, reducing our carbon emissions provides an opportunity to create millions of new jobs, and to unleash a new era of prosperity based on clean energy.

Shortly after Murkowski's announcement, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) came out with a scathing review of Senator Murkwoski's resolution, claiming that it "would send a message that the United States will remain reliant on outdated and inefficient energy technologies and delay investment in new, clean technologies that would spur innovation and create good-paying, American jobs, all across this great nation."

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) rightfully turned Senator Murkowski's argument on its head: "There are real costs -- real economic costs, real costs in jobs -- to pursuing the failed strategy that Senator Murkowski suggests," he said. Whitehouse also recounted the history of past environmental laws. In every case, he said, polluters come kicking and screaming about all the economic harm that new legislation will do, yet their claims are never even remotely accurate when new environmental laws are enacted and enforced.

And as if that wasn't enough, Whitehouse also called the real bad guys out by name: "This is not just a special interest that's objecting (to environmental regulation), this is the extra special interests that are objecting: coal and oil."

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) invoked his grandchildren when speaking about the importance of allowing the Clean Air Act to do what Congress intended for it to do: protect current and future generations of Americans from environmental threats.

In addition to the senators on the EPW committee who have spoken out against the Murkowski amendment, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said last week that he would work to defeat the effort, describing it as a "highly political move, and a highly hazardous one to our health and the environment."

It is also worth noting that a few Republicans have so far declined to sign on to Murkowski's destructive amendment. These include Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME), both of whom have expressed significant interest in passing a comprehensive climate bill this year. Collins has even co-authored one with Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA).

Senator Murkowski's extreme attack on our nation's most valuable piece of environmental legislation is a clear demonstration of her loyalty to Big Oil and Dirty Coal. While some members of Congress are choosing to stand up for science, public health, and the hope for a new and vibrant clean energy economy, others are buying into the deceit and fear of corporate lobbyists, including Democratic Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Blanche Lincoln (D-NE), and Ben Nelson (D-NE).

We must continue to let our representatives in Congress know that Senator Murkowski's efforts are deadly. Call your Senator today and tell them to vote NO on Murkowski, and instead to focus on building a clean energy future.