Pallone Statement on Earth Day
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) released the following statement in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day:
"Today I join the world in celebrating Earth Day, which every year serves as an important reminder that we must be good stewards of this planet, because we are all only as healthy as the environment in which we live. Environmental health is public health, and the difficult times we're experiencing now with the COVID-19 pandemic only drive that point home.
"New research once again confirms that air pollution has a dire — even deadly — effect on human health. Earth Day asks us to recognize and address this reality.
"To that end, it's critical that we call out the Trump Administration's endless barrage of environmental rollbacks. In the last two months alone, the Trump EPA has dismantled the wildly successful Mercury and Air Toxics rule that keeps toxic pollution from coal-fired power plants out of our air, clean cars standards designed to reduce tailpipe pollution and fine particle pollution protections critical to maintaining healthy air quality. To dismantle such foundational environmental protections in the midst of a respiratory illness pandemic is particularly disgraceful and reveals an Administration and an EPA engaged in the wholesale rejection of science.
"Today, I invite all those celebrating this 50th anniversary of Earth Day to join me in telling Administrator Wheeler: enough is enough. Failing to protect our air, water and land is a failure to protect us all.
"I also invite those celebrating today to join me in our fight to achieve a 100 percent clean economy. It is not enough to simply undo the Trump EPA's dangerous rollbacks — we must also make significant progress. The CLEAN Future Act would achieve that, by transitioning the country toward renewable energy, getting industry to net-zero pollution, making sweeping investments in climate-resilient infrastructure and assisting frontline communities who will be hit hardest by the climate crisis. The CLEAN Future Act is a blueprint for the kind of thoughtful, meaningful climate action demanded of us, and we must not accept anything less.
"I look forward to continuing work on this legislation in the months ahead, and working with all those who care about Earth Day, our environment and our collective public health to pass it. The best way to celebrate Earth Day is to fight for what it stands for every day, and I am committed to doing exactly that."