[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 9 (Monday, March 3, 2003)]
[Page 253]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Proposed Legislation To Implement the Clear Skies 
Initiative

February 27, 2003

    In my State of the Union Address, I urged Congress to enact my 
aggressive and innovative plan to cut air pollution, the Clear Skies 
Initiative. Clear Skies will cut powerplant emissions by 70 percent--
much further, faster, more cost-effectively and with more certainty than 
current law.
    Today, with the reintroduction of my legislation, Clear Skies takes 
an important step towards delivering health and environmental benefits 
to Americans. I am pleased that Chairman Tauzin and Chairman Barton have 
introduced Clear Skies in the House and Chairman Inhofe and Chairman 
Voinovich have introduced it in the Senate.
    In the last 30 years, America has dramatically improved air quality. 
Clear Skies is the next step in this positive trend towards bringing 
cleaner air and better health to more of our citizens. We have learned a 
lot about what approaches work best, and now is the time to put those 
lessons to use.
    Clear Skies builds on the proven success of our most effective clean 
air program--the acid rain reduction program, which significantly 
reduced acid rain in the Northeast. Clear Skies expands this program so 
that in the next decade alone, we will remove 35 million more tons of 
pollution from the air than would the current Clean Air Act. This will 
also help protect our forests, lakes, streams, and coastal waters from 
acid rain, nitrogen, and mercury degradation. And Clear Skies will do 
this through the use of a market-based system that guarantees results 
while keeping electricity prices affordable for Americans.
    I thank Chairmen Tauzin, Inhofe, Barton, and Voinovich for their 
leadership on this important environmental initiative. Clear Skies 
represents cost-effective pollution reductions that make sense for the 
environment and the economy. Administrator Whitman and I look forward to 
working with Congress to deliver the benefits promised by passage of 
Clear Skies legislation.