[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 18 (Monday, May 10, 1999)]
[Pages 782-783]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

May 1, 1999

    Good morning. Today I want to talk to you about one of the most 
important steps we can take to clean the air we breathe and protect the 
health of all Americans.
    Over the past generation, our Nation has made enormous progress in 
improving the quality of our air. In the late 1960's carbon monoxide, 
lead, and smog levels were so high in several major cities that walking 
to school in the morning could be almost as harmful for young children 
as smoking cigarettes.
    Today, people are breathing easier all across our country. Thanks to 
engineering breakthroughs and bipartisan environmental stewardship over 
the past three decades, we have reduced the annual emissions of harmful 
pollutants by a remarkable 70 million tons.
    Over the past 6 years alone, even as our Nation has produced the 
most dynamic economy in a generation, we have improved air quality in 
every single State. We've reduced toxic air pollution from chemical 
plants by 90 percent. We've set the toughest standards in decades for 
smog and soot, which will prevent millions of cases of childhood asthma. 
Just last week the Vice President announced a new effort to clear the 
haze and restore pristine skies to our national parks. But we must do 
more.
    Americans love to drive, and we're driving more than ever. But the 
emissions from our cars, particularly from the larger, less efficient 
vehicles, threaten to erode many of the air quality gains America has 
achieved. As a result, many of our States and cities are no longer on 
course to meet our vital air quality goals.
    So last year EPA Administrator Carol Browner sat down with members 
of the oil and auto industries, environmental and public health groups, 
and State and local governments to study how we can stay on track. The 
level of cooperation was unprecedented, and so was the result.
    Today I am proud to announce the details of this EPA proposal. The 
proposal would achieve a dramatic reduction in air pollution for the 
21st century, and it would do so in the most cost effective and flexible 
ways. For the first time, we would require all passenger vehicles, 
including the popular sport utility vehicles, to meet the same tough 
pollution standards. And for the first time, our plan addresses not only 
the cars we drive but also the fuel they use. Because sulfur clogs and 
impairs antipollution devices, we're proposing to cut the sulfur content 
of gasoline by about 90 percent over the next 5 years.
    Beginning in the year 2004, manufacturers would start producing 
vehicles that are 75 to 95 percent cleaner than those rolling off the 
assembly lines today. And the health benefits would be enormous. Every 
year we can prevent thousands of premature deaths, tens of thousands of 
cases of respiratory illness, and hundreds of thousands of lost work 
days.
    According to some estimates, the benefits of the proposal may 
outweigh the costs by as much as 4 to 1. In designing this proposal, 
we've taken great pains to make sure these new standards will not cause 
hardship for industry or reduce consumer choice.
    In many cases, existing technology will allow manufacturers to meet 
the new standards and still offer the same models popular with consumers 
today. To accommodate manufacturers of sport utility vehicles and others 
who face special challenges, our proposal provides extra time to meet 
the new standards. We will spend the next several months getting 
comments and suggestions on the plan. Now that the EPA has published its 
proposal, a 60-day period of public comment and public hearings will 
begin. With the help of interested citizens, industry, and public health 
and other groups, we believe we can finalize this proposal by the end of 
the year.
    Ever since the days when thick smog was choking our major cities, 
pessimists have claimed that protecting the environment and 
strengthening the economy were incompatible goals. But today, our 
economy is the

[[Page 783]]

strongest in a generation, and our environment is the cleanest in a 
generation. Whether the issue was deadly pesticides, fouled rivers, or 
polluted air, the American people have always proved the pessimists 
wrong.
    With the EPA's new clean air proposal, we will prove them wrong once 
again. Not only will we enhance our long-term prosperity, we will ensure 
that our children inherit a living, breathing Earth, our most important 
obligation of all.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 5:49 p.m. on April 30 in the Oval 
Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on May 1. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
April 30 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.