Republican Environmental Policy Puts Industry Profits Above Public Health Concerns
(Washington, DC) – Today the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulations and their impact on the American economy. The Majority called the hearing to provide industry another opportunity to exaggerate the costs of regulations despite the record of significant economic growth that has occurred while those regulations have been in effect. The Democratic witness was Dr. Jerome Paulson of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Paulson testified on how effective environmental regulations can improve public health – a major purpose of any environmental regulation.
Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) said, “Unfortunately today’s hearing is just a continuation of the same familiar theme we have heard in this Congress – resistance to the EPA’s efforts to carry out its mission to protect the nation’s environment and the public health – resistance that is unsupported by the scientific evidence.
“It thus should not be a surprise that this hearing, like all the others on EPA’s activities, will fail to offer any constructive solutions for lowering ozone or cutting carbon emissions. Instead, it will serve as one more platform for industry to voice its opposition to regulations that will make the air we breathe cleaner, the water we drink safer, and that will help address the looming challenge of climate change.”
In his testimony, Dr. Paulson clarified the considerable benefit regulations like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 have had over the years.
He said in his written testimony, “Since these laws were enacted, we have learned much about the relationship between air pollution and health through thousands of epidemiologic and controlled studies. In addition, we have learned a great deal about the health benefits that the Clean Air Act has already generated. A 1997 EPA report to Congress found that the first 20 years of the Clean Air Act led to the prevention in 1990 of 205,000 premature deaths, 672,000 cases of chronic bronchitis, 21,000 cases of heart disease, 843,000 asthma attacks, 18 million childhood respiratory illnesses, and prevention of the loss of 10.4 million IQ points for children from lead exposure. Following the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, emissions of six common pollutants dropped by 41 percent through 2008.”
Ranking Member Johnson said, “I am proud to say that I was a nurse before I entered politics. And I can think of no mission of the federal government that is more important or noble than EPA’s mission to ‘protect human health and the environment.’”
Other Democratic Members of the Committee joined the Ranking Member in emphasizing the importance of protecting public health and the threat continued pollution and ozone can have on vulnerable populations. Members also highlighted the economic growth and innovation that followed passage of previous major environmental protection regulations.
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