We wish to express our gratitude to Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, for going to the House floor to defend health standards for air pollution and voting against HR 4480, which contained a measure designed expressly to gut the Clean Air Act.
For the first time, this bill would have prevented health scientists from setting our nation's air quality standards, instead allowing corporate polluters and their financial analysts to do the job. Such a move would blatantly prioritize corporate profits over public health.
Tonko and others stood up for public health and the Clean Air Act and its more than 40-year legacy of saving lives. The American Lung Association notes, in 2010 alone, the Clean Air Act was responsible for preventing 160,000 premature deaths. Protecting this landmark law should be a congressional priority, not a political target.
This is certainly not the first attempt in recent months to weaken the Clean Air Act and should serve as a solemn warning to the parents and caretakers of the 434,000 children living with asthma in our state that healthy air is now squarely in our hands to defend.
I hope that we can continue to count on Tonko and New York's entire delegation to support healthy air.
ADRIENNE WEISS HARRISON, M.D.
New York board chairwoman, American Lung Association of the Northeast