On the recordMarch 8, 2011
There is a lot of talk these days about dangers posed to our national security from far away places: revolution in Libya, the war in Afghanistan. They get our full attention. But what about the dangers that lurk inside our Nation? We have a domestic situation, a danger that is directly visible, and we are about to stoke that fire. House Republicans are going after something as fundamental as the air our children breathe. The budget they recently passed calls for the gutting of the Clean Air Act, which is a clear and present danger, as they fail to solve a major fiscal requirement. That includes the expansion of revenues to balance the budget rather than simply the slash-and-burn policy we are now undergoing. The Clean Air Act protects our children from toxic chemicals in the air and illnesses such as asthma and lung cancer. Last year alone, that law prevented 1.7 million cases of childhood asthma and more than 160,000--160,000--premature deaths, according to EPA. Those numbers are big, but they loom a lot larger when it is your child. As we often say here, what goes around can come around. If you want to know the real value of the Clean Air Act to America's families, talk to the millions of parents who live in fear of their children's next asthma attack. It is a fear my own family knows all too well. One of my grandsons suffers from this disease.
