[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 9, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             CLEAN AIR ACT

  (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, in 1970, our air was so polluted that 
breathing was literally a public health threat. Recognizing that need 
to give Americans clean air, Republican President Richard Nixon signed 
into law the Clean Air Act.
  In its 40-year history, the Clean Air Act has saved the United States 
trillions of dollars by keeping Americans out of hospitals, in schools, 
and in the workforce.
  The nonpartisan American Lung Association estimates that in 2010 
alone it saved over 160,000 lives. But despite saving 160,000 lives and 
trillions of dollars in the last 40 years, the Republican majority 
claims this legislation is destroying the American economy. They 
believe that act must be repealed so Big Oil and corporate polluters 
can no longer be held responsible for destroying our air and 
endangering public health.
  If Republican efforts to repeal the EPA's Clean Air Act authority are 
successful, we will return to a time when every breath you take will 
endanger your life. History disproves Republican claims and illustrates 
that the Clean Air Act saves lives, creates jobs, and saves the 
government tens of trillions of dollars. But, apparently, these facts 
that Richard Nixon understood do not matter.

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