From the Office of Senator Kerry

Thursday, June 13, 2002

Washington, D.C. -- "By weakening protections against air pollution, the Bush Administration today continued a shameful policy of offering platitudes about public health while pulling the rug out from under common sense protections that guarantee clean air and water. This is terrible news for families in the Northeast too often victimized by cross state air pollution. The Administration's announcement risks more childhood asthma and respiratory disease, and poses a major threat to many states' serious efforts to combat air pollution.

I'm shocked that just days after grudgingly acknowledging that global warming is a major environmental crisis, they strip away clean air protections to shield Americans from power plant pollution. The Administration's own scientists have concluded that two-thirds of Americans have an increased risk of cancer from toxic pollutants, including mercury emissions from power plants -- but when push comes to shove, this Administration takes the side of polluters over the public health of millions of American families.

We can do better than this -- there are better choices we can make for our country's health and our environment -- and I believe Americans want pro-business, pro-environment policies that create good jobs not pollution. It's up to principled leaders to put a better set of choices on the table."