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WASHINGTON - Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) declared the Bush "Clear Skies" bill introduced today in the House and Senate a legislative nonstarter, saying it would eliminate many requirements of the Clean Air Act for power plants and dilute attempts to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury.
"The Clear Skies Act is wrongly-named, because this legislation is full of dark clouds." Lieberman said. "According to the Environmental Protection Agency's own analysis, Clear Skies will allow more pollution over a longer period than the existing Clean Air Act. And, as is typical from this Administration, the bill totally ignores the urgent problem of global climate change. We as a country can do so much better than this."
Lieberman pointed to his own tri-partisan proposal, the Clean Power Act, cosponsored with Senators Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and Susan Collins (R-ME), as a better alternative that will cut air pollution, including carbon dioxide emissions, and give businesses the certainty they need to plan for the long term.
Underlining his assertion that the Bush Administration is the most anti-environmental in a generation, Lieberman expressed particular concern about the apparent weakening of the proposal even since last Congress. For example, in comparison to last year's bill, the new legislation would dilute rules for Oklahoma and Kansas by reclassifying them as Western states and would give many companies an extension to comply with current regulations on nitrogen oxide emissions. And last year's Clear Skies Act was itself a retreat, including significantly lower emissions reductions than the original proposal drafted by the EPA.
"Every time we see the Administration's plan to clean our air, it gets weaker," Lieberman said. "Before we know it, the whole plan is likely to vanish into thin air. All who care about the quality of the air we breathe should be deeply concerned about where the Administration wants this proposal to end up."
Lieberman expressed his willingness to seek compromise on the matter, but said he would not yield on two basic points: the final legislation must include a plan to curb carbon dioxide emissions and must be a step forward, not backward, from the Clean Air Act.
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