From the Office of Senator Kerry

Wednesday, March 14, 2001

Washington, DC – Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) today strongly condemned President Bush's reversal yesterday of his campaign promise to support legislation designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

"The President's new position is a disappointment to all Americans concerned with the environment. There has been a growing bipartisan consensus to enact legislation to reduce pollution from power plants, and the President is trying to kill that effort before it gathers steam.

"On the campaign trail last fall, President Bush pledged to stand against those who attack the science to protect their own financial interests. Yesterday's stunning reversal by President Bush deals a blow to the international effort to prevent dangerous global warming. The President's change of heart is surprising given the stronger warnings from the scientific and the growing support for the proposal. The President's explanation for his reversal is lacking. I'm incredulous that the President and his staff had such little understanding of the Clean Air Act and yet they were still willing to offer campaign promises -- this smacks of a return to the same logic that continues to den the existence of global climate change and holds us back from finding meaningful answers to the country's most pressing environmental challenges."

"President Bush's reversal will weigh heavily on the international effort to mitigate global warming. To the international community, America is the largest polluter and the one nation most unwilling make an effort to protect the global environment. Every year we fail to act, the more difficult our environmental goals will be to achieve. President Bush has now learned that his words and actions have consequences – and yesterday, in one fell swoop, he may have destroyed prospects for any bi-partisanship compromise this year on pollution reduction, global climate change and a whole host of critical environmental issues."