Frances Beinecke, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council, NRDC, warns us on their Switchboard that the Most Anti-Environment House In US History Tries To Do More Damage.
Tea Party leaders in the House have dramatically stepped up their assault on America’s environmental and public health safeguards. Last week alone they used about 50 floor votes and more than 30 policy riders on spending bills to undermine the protections that keep our air safe, our water clean, and our public lands intact.
Another barrage of anti-environment bills is on its way. The upcoming debate in the full House on funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department will likely feature votes on even more policy riders designed to prevent the government from upholding basic environmental standards. ...
Public outcry has helped contain some of damage, but we must raise our voices even louder in the coming weeks. We must tell lawmakers they cannot repeal the safeguards that protect our families and favorite places.
And we must do it now before more damage is done. For never in my 40 years as an environmental advocate have I seen such a concerted effort to undermine bedrock environmental laws.
Not even Newt Gingrich ’s 1995 campaign against the environment can match it. Back then, conservative leaders proposed 17 policy riders designed to handcuff the Environmental Protection Agency. This year, the House has added more than 20 riders that tie the EPA’s hands, with at least another 10 targeting other environmental agencies.
Frances Beinecke’s Press Release continues:
Posted July 19, 2011 in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy.
And this time around, the scale is even broader: everything from smog standards to wildlife protections to clean water.
On Monday, Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) brought his BULB Act to a vote. ...
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Appropriations passed a budget for the Interior Department loaded down with more than 30 anti-environment policy riders. These riders ... block the government from following environmental laws. Another would block the Department of Interior from enforcing safeguards designed to protect streams from coal mining pollution.
On Wednesday, the House passed a bill that would gut the Clean Water Act, and once again, the extent of the attack is almost unprecedented. ...
In 1995, Gingrich and his allies started their barrage on environmental safeguards with an attack on the Clean Water Act in May. By July, their efforts had so outraged the public that the House GOP leadership lost its first vote on anti-environment bills and lawmakers started shying away from attacking safeguards.
Please read Frances Beinecke's whole press-release, as it will surely get you fired up to sign their action petitions to help stop ''the rider-laden EPA spending bill, which could come before the House next week. Click here to tell your lawmakers to stop these attacks"
Stop Attacts On EPA