Anti-EPA Measure Draws Scorn From House Democrats

By Rachel Whitt

A group of Democrats gathered Wednesday to oppose Republicans attempts at cancelling the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. 

With the House set to vote Wednesday on a bill that does just that, Democrats are accusing Republicans of wanting to gut the law completely, leaving swaths of the country vulnerable to increased pollution levels.

“Republicans want to pass their “Dirty Air Act” to absolutely shackle the ability of Uncle Sam to protect breathing rights of Americans across this country, said Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) during a press conference. 

Reps. Inslee and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) spearheaded the gathering, which included members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and speakers from science, health, and national security groups. 

The group was opposing what they referred to as the “Dirty Air Act,” otherwise known as H.R. 910 or the Energy Tax Prevention Act, which would repeal pollution control standards put in place with the Clean Air Act. 

The Democrats said that un-refutable science shows that global warming and pollution are causing harm to the earth, and that passing this bill would be ignoring the research of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

“We’re here to protect the integrity of science and as a result the health of our country,” Quigley said. “I stand on the side of science, to protect our nation’s health.”