Carper Pushes for Comprehensive Clean Air Bill CAIR Rule Step In Right Direction But More Needs to Be Done

WASHINGTON (March 10, 2005) – Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., released the following statement on today’s announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency to institute new standards on smog (known as the Clean Air Interstate Rule): “The administration’s new CAIR rule would mean healthier air for millions of Americans, especially those on the East Coast, but it doesn’t go far enough. Ten years from now, none of the counties in my home state of Delaware will meet health standards for ozone. We can do better. Only comprehensive clean air legislation — targeting emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury and carbon dioxide in conjunction — will achieve the kind of reductions in air pollution to make us all breathe easier. Yesterday, the president’s ‘Clear Skies’ legislation, which tracks closely to the CAIR rule, died in a Senate committee because many of us felt we can go farther, faster than what the president’s proposed. It’s time to get back to work and find consensus on this issue so that we can pass new clean air legislation this year.”