Recognizes: (1) the health, economic, and national security benefits of the Clean Air Act; and (2) that Clean Air Act programs have a record of providing health and economic benefits that significantly exceed the initial investments made in pollution reduction technology.
Expresses support for the protection of children and families from harmful pollution through continued implementation of that Act.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 119 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 119
Recognizing past, present, and future public health and economic
benefits of cleaner air due to the successful implementation of the
Clean Air Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 31, 2011
Mr. Sanders (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Carper, Mr. Kerry, Mr.
Reid, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Franken,
Mrs. Murray, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Udall of New
Mexico, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Lieberman, Mr. Reed, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Inouye, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Durbin,
Mr. Bingaman, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Coons, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Johnson of
South Dakota, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Nelson of
Florida, and Mr. Blumenthal) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing past, present, and future public health and economic
benefits of cleaner air due to the successful implementation of the
Clean Air Act.
Whereas for more than 40 years since passing with strong bipartisan support, the
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) has saved lives and protected
public health in the United States while creating jobs and enhancing
national security;
Whereas the Clean Air Act has saved hundreds of thousands of American lives
since 1970;
Whereas the Clean Air Act has helped industry in the United States lead the way
in creating jobs in pollution reduction technology, creating more than
1,000,000 jobs in the United States and a multibillion-dollar market for
pollution reduction technology and leading to tens of billions of
dollars in exports each year to other nations looking to improve their
own air quality, according to the Institute of Clean Air Companies and
The Small Business Majority;
Whereas the Clean Air Act is estimated to provide up to $40 of health and
economic benefits to Americans for every dollar invested;
Whereas the Clean Air Act is credited with reducing air pollution from lead,
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide,
and ozone by 41 percent over the 20 years prior to the date of approval
of this resolution, while over the same period, gross domestic product
grew by 64 percent;
Whereas the Clean Air Act has protected children by reducing lead pollution in
the air by 92 percent since 1980, significantly reducing the number of
children with brain damage resulting from lead poisoning;
Whereas the protections offered by the Clean Air Act are credited with saving
families in the United States each year from 54,000 cases of chronic
bronchitis, 130,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 130,000 heart attacks,
1,700,000 cases of asthma exacerbation, 86,000 emergency room visits,
3,200,000 lost school days for children, and 13,000,000 lost work days;
Whereas the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-549; 104 Stat.
2399), which also passed with strong bipartisan support, saves more than
160,000 American lives every year, has reduced power plant sulfur
dioxide pollution by 64 percent and nitrogen oxides pollution by 67
percent, and has decreased acid rain deposits by 40 percent, all for a
total investment of 82 percent less than originally estimated by the
Federal Government;
Whereas the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 led to a phase-out by 1996 of the
most harmful ozone layer-depleting products, for a total investment of
30 percent less than originally projected by the Federal Government,
saving millions of Americans from skin cancer;
Whereas the Clean Air Act vehicle standards for cars, light trucks, and heavy
duty trucks help--
(1) to save drivers money at the gas pump by spurring fuel efficiency
innovation, at an estimated savings to drivers of $2,800 over the life of a
vehicle; and
(2) to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs while enhancing
national security by saving an estimated 2,300,000,000 barrels of oil over
the life of those vehicles;
Whereas there remains a need to reduce harmful pollutants under the Clean Air
Act, including soot- and smog-forming pollutants, mercury, lead,
arsenic, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, to avoid negative health
impacts on families and children that include brain damage and
developmental problems for unborn children and infants, heart attacks
and strokes, aggravated asthma attacks, lung damage, and early deaths;
Whereas according to the American Lung Association 1 in every 10 Americans lives
in an area with unhealthy year-round levels of fine particle pollution,
and 6 in every 10 Americans live in an area with unhealthy levels of 1
or more air pollutants; and
Whereas many of the leading medical professional and public health organizations
of the United States, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the
American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the
American College of Preventative Medicine, the American Heart
Association, the American Lung Association, the American Public Health
Association, the American Thoracic Society, the Asthma and Allergy
Foundation of America, the National Association of County and City
Health Officials, the National Physicians Alliance, the Trust for
America's Health, and the Children's Environmental Health Network, have
stated that continued successful implementation of the Clean Air Act is
``quite literally a matter of life and death for tens of thousands of
people and will mean the difference between chronic debilitating illness
or a healthy life for hundreds of thousands more'': Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the health, economic, and national security
benefits of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);
(2) believes that the people of the United States deserve
the cleanest air and healthiest lives possible;
(3) recognizes that the Clean Air Act programs have a
record of providing clear short- and long-term health and
economic benefits that significantly exceed the initial
investments made in pollution reduction technology; and
(4) supports the protection of children and families from
harmful pollution through continued implementation of the Clean
Air Act.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2052-2053)
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