Kathy Castor: “My amendment makes an important exemption to the REINS Act to ensure that policies that protect children from cancer…”

“My amendment makes an important exemption to the REINS Act to ensure that policies that protect children from cancer, premature death, asthma attacks, or respiratory disease are not delayed or denied. For example, the Clean Air Act, which has been in place for over 40 years, and has improved our health and protected all Americans from harmful toxic air pollution, such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particle pollution, often requires updates based upon the best science, especially when it comes to our kids. Toxic pollutants, such as ozone, which is a major component of smog, are linked to asthma, lung, and heart disease and result in thousands of deaths every year and up to 1 million missed days of school. Our kids are particularly susceptible to this type of pollution because their lungs are still developing. On average, they take deeper breaths and are more likely to spend long periods outdoors, placing them at higher risk. The American Lung Association states that inhaling smog pollution is like getting a sunburn on your lungs, and often results in immediate breathing trouble. I remember very well back in the early seventies, when I was a little girl, what the air was like in my hometown in Tampa. We had a lot of industrial users at the port of Tampa, a lot of industrial plants. I have seen the progress over time that the Clean Air Act has brought to this country. We are not like other countries in the world.…”