The House Energy and Commerce Committee will vote today on HR 910, or the Asthma Aggravation Act of 2011. The bill will allow big corporations to dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution from power plants and other industrial sources.
Environmental groups like NRDC oppose the measure, but so do a lot of other non-environmental groups including health, small business and consumer. Here’s a sample of what they are saying:
This legislation would interfere with EPA’s ability to implement the Clean Air Act; a law that protects the public health and reduces health care costs for all by preventing thousands of adverse health outcomes, including: cancer, asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, emergency department visits, hospitalization and premature deaths. … H.R. 910 would strip away sensible Clean Air Act protections that safeguard Americans and their families from air pollution.
Consumer Groups-Consumer's Union:
Consumers Union . . . respectfully urges you to oppose H.R. 910, the “Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011,” which would likely wind up costing consumers money by increasing oil consumption and increasing public harm from pollution…. By stripping the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) future authority over vehicle emissions, H.R. 910 would increase our gasoline consumption and force consumers to pay higher fuel costs…. The most prevalent compliance response of polluting facilities to EPA’s permitting process for carbon pollution will be increasing energy efficiency of their operations. This increase in energy efficiency will significantly reduce energy demand and a variety of toxic pollutant emissions, such as mercury, lead, and arsenic. The reduced energy demand and decrease in pollution will directly benefit consumers in terms of lower energy prices and reduced negative health impacts.
Small Business-Small Business Majority:
We are writing to oppose H.R. 910, which would harm America’s economic future by restricting the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. . . Over the last 40 years, the EPA has been as much a protector of our economy as of the public’s health. . . Despite this success, some in Congress are seeking to undermine the EPA’s authority to enforce the Clean Air Act, when they should instead focus on passing legislation that will create jobs and boost business opportunities for employers across the nation. H.R. 910 will not help small businesses innovate and create jobs, nor will it help our economy thrive.
UPDATE: Veterans-Vote Vets also oppose HR 910:
Our opposition to this legislation is simple – it will increase America’s dependence on oil at a time when our national security can ill-afford it. . . we want to be perfectly clear and blunt – a vote for this piece of legislation is a vote to enrich Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and America’s enemies. A vote for this misguided piece of legislation is a vote to endanger America’s troops and security.
Bottom line: Protecting the Clean Air Act and allowing the EPA to do its job is good for our health, good for consumers and good for business. We'll be live blogging and tweeting the markup and vote this am, so stay tuned (nrdclive).