Congresswoman Lee Applauds EPA’s Decision to Begin Cutting Carbon Pollution from Power Plants
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014
Contact: Katherine Jolly, (510) 763-0370
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s new carbon pollution standards for existing power plants:
“The Obama Administration’s decision to begin cutting carbon emissions from power plants is an important step on the road to reversing the dangerous effects of global climate change. Rising temperatures, unprecedented storms, and in California, the most severe drought in recorded history, leave little doubt that climate change is already at hand and affecting the lives of millions of Americans.
“The plan announced by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to reduce power plant carbon emissions by 30 percent makes economic and moral sense. Power plants are the single largest source of carbon pollution in United States, and the EPA’s Clean Power Plan offers a fair, flexible roadmap to a green future.
“These safeguards are of particular importance to low-income communities and communities of color, who are more likely to live near power plant pollution and more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. At a time when Americans are spending $100 billion annually to treat health conditions caused by power plant pollution, such as asthma and heart disease, these common sense regulations will protect public health in low-income and all communities, and restore our planet for future generations.”
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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.
Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, as well as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), where she serves as the Co-Chair of the CPC Peace and Security Task Force.