April 21, 2004
“I support policies that protect our planet, promote energy security, and preserve human health. Unfortunately, in its three years in office, the Bush Administration has launched an all-out assault on our environment in all three of these areas. Bush policies have weakened protections on air, water, and public lands, and these assaults pose a direct threat to public health now and in the future. The actions we take now to protect these vital resources and to reinvent our approach to energy will have enormous consequences for future generations. Global warming, perhaps the most catastrophic and far-reaching consequence of our current practices, will not wait; our efforts to tackle these problems can’t wait either.”
“We need to begin by preserving existing protections, from maintaining the well being of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by continuing to ban drilling in this precious wilderness to maintaining the well being of our children by halting the disastrous Bush Administration rollbacks of our clean air and water regulations.”
“Our next step must be enforcement of existing laws and regulations. The Republican budget cuts environmental programs by $39 billion. At those levels, we cannot enforce existing public health safeguards. To make matters worse, the Administration has abandoned the “polluter pays” principle: taxpayers, not the polluters themselves, will now be responsible for the costs of cleaning up toxic Superfund sites. And one in every four people in this country live within four miles of a major toxic waste site on the Superfund list.”
“For people of color, these numbers are even worse and so are the consequences. Life expectancy itself is an environmental justice issue. In this country, life expectancy projections are shaped as much by race as by gender. These disparities follow a cradle to grave cycle: beginning with infant mortality, continuing with workplace hazards and increased exposure to pollution, and ending with disparate access to healthcare, diagnoses, and medical treatment.”
“We see these forces clearly in diseases that strike most deeply into our cities and affect children most severely. Asthma rates among the urban poor are reaching alarming proportions. Death rates from asthma, and a host of other treatable diseases, are significantly higher among African Americans than any other ethnic group. Asthma rates in Oakland, in my district, are among the highest in the country. Children in West Oakland are seven times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than children in the rest of California.”
“On Earth Day, it is important that we recognize just what is at stake here: our air, our water, our lands, and our children’s health. We need to stop the Bush Administration’s assault on existing protections, and we need to invest in new solutions, especially in the energy arena, that will increase our own security as well as protect the environment around us.”
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On Earth Day 2004, Congresswoman Barbara Lee Calls on Bush Administration to Stop Its Attack on the Environment
Washington, DC – During today’s Earth Day events, Congresswoman Barbara Lee joined with environmental organizations in calling on the Administration to stop its assault on the environment. In a Congressional Record statement, Lee said:“I support policies that protect our planet, promote energy security, and preserve human health. Unfortunately, in its three years in office, the Bush Administration has launched an all-out assault on our environment in all three of these areas. Bush policies have weakened protections on air, water, and public lands, and these assaults pose a direct threat to public health now and in the future. The actions we take now to protect these vital resources and to reinvent our approach to energy will have enormous consequences for future generations. Global warming, perhaps the most catastrophic and far-reaching consequence of our current practices, will not wait; our efforts to tackle these problems can’t wait either.”
“We need to begin by preserving existing protections, from maintaining the well being of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by continuing to ban drilling in this precious wilderness to maintaining the well being of our children by halting the disastrous Bush Administration rollbacks of our clean air and water regulations.”
“Our next step must be enforcement of existing laws and regulations. The Republican budget cuts environmental programs by $39 billion. At those levels, we cannot enforce existing public health safeguards. To make matters worse, the Administration has abandoned the “polluter pays” principle: taxpayers, not the polluters themselves, will now be responsible for the costs of cleaning up toxic Superfund sites. And one in every four people in this country live within four miles of a major toxic waste site on the Superfund list.”
“For people of color, these numbers are even worse and so are the consequences. Life expectancy itself is an environmental justice issue. In this country, life expectancy projections are shaped as much by race as by gender. These disparities follow a cradle to grave cycle: beginning with infant mortality, continuing with workplace hazards and increased exposure to pollution, and ending with disparate access to healthcare, diagnoses, and medical treatment.”
“We see these forces clearly in diseases that strike most deeply into our cities and affect children most severely. Asthma rates among the urban poor are reaching alarming proportions. Death rates from asthma, and a host of other treatable diseases, are significantly higher among African Americans than any other ethnic group. Asthma rates in Oakland, in my district, are among the highest in the country. Children in West Oakland are seven times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than children in the rest of California.”
“On Earth Day, it is important that we recognize just what is at stake here: our air, our water, our lands, and our children’s health. We need to stop the Bush Administration’s assault on existing protections, and we need to invest in new solutions, especially in the energy arena, that will increase our own security as well as protect the environment around us.”
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