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| - - - - - NEWS FROM BARBARA BOXER, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM CALIFORNIA - - - - - |
April 18, 2011
Dear Friend:
As we celebrate Earth Day this week, it is outrageous that our environment and the laws designed to protect it are under attack. Two weeks ago, House Republicans tried to attach provisions to the budget agreement that would have repealed public health protections in our landmark environmental laws. We stopped those efforts.
As Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I also led the successful fight to defend the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act by defeating those anti-environmental provisions on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
For the life of me, I can’t understand why my Republican colleagues want to threaten the air we breathe and the water we drink. Why would we want to destroy public health safeguards that prevent premature deaths, children's asthma attacks, and emergency room visits? Why would we want to eliminate protections that ensure our drinking water is safe from harmful toxins? Leading public health organizations joined me in defending our landmark environmental laws that have protected children and families for the past four decades, and we all must remain vigilant.
Although we successfully defeated GOP demands to repeal laws that safeguard the air we breathe and water we drink, we must brace for more battles ahead. When Congress established a national Earth Day in 1970, it was a bipartisan response to what was widely viewed as an environmental emergency.
During the 1960s, air pollution had caused many communities to cancel recess for school children and triggered air and lung problems for countless people. Contaminated tap water often caused disease outbreaks and exposed people to cancer-causing chemicals. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so polluted, it actually caught on fire.
The first Earth Day helped to spur a flurry of legislation to address these problems. Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970, the Clean Water Act in 1972, and the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974. All of these bills were enacted with broad bipartisan support and signed by a Republican President, Richard Nixon. Although much work remains to be done, these landmark laws have made a tremendous difference in our environment and public health.
On Earth Day and every day, you can count on me to keep fighting to protect our environment and the health and safety of all Americans.
As we celebrate Earth Day this week, it is outrageous that our environment and the laws designed to protect it are under attack. Two weeks ago, House Republicans tried to attach provisions to the budget agreement that would have repealed public health protections in our landmark environmental laws. We stopped those efforts.
As Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I also led the successful fight to defend the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act by defeating those anti-environmental provisions on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
For the life of me, I can’t understand why my Republican colleagues want to threaten the air we breathe and the water we drink. Why would we want to destroy public health safeguards that prevent premature deaths, children's asthma attacks, and emergency room visits? Why would we want to eliminate protections that ensure our drinking water is safe from harmful toxins? Leading public health organizations joined me in defending our landmark environmental laws that have protected children and families for the past four decades, and we all must remain vigilant.
Although we successfully defeated GOP demands to repeal laws that safeguard the air we breathe and water we drink, we must brace for more battles ahead. When Congress established a national Earth Day in 1970, it was a bipartisan response to what was widely viewed as an environmental emergency.
During the 1960s, air pollution had caused many communities to cancel recess for school children and triggered air and lung problems for countless people. Contaminated tap water often caused disease outbreaks and exposed people to cancer-causing chemicals. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so polluted, it actually caught on fire.
The first Earth Day helped to spur a flurry of legislation to address these problems. Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970, the Clean Water Act in 1972, and the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974. All of these bills were enacted with broad bipartisan support and signed by a Republican President, Richard Nixon. Although much work remains to be done, these landmark laws have made a tremendous difference in our environment and public health.
On Earth Day and every day, you can count on me to keep fighting to protect our environment and the health and safety of all Americans.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
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