Rep. Mike Levin and Lawmakers Urge EPA to Maintain Bedrock Policy to Combat Climate Change
Download his remarks and photos HERE. Watch his remarks HERE.
Washington, D.C.—Today, Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49), Vice Chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), joined lawmakers from the House and Senate to highlight the harmful impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attempted rollback of the Endangerment Finding and other climate policies aimed at protecting the environment and tackling climate change.
“I led a letter with virtually the entire California delegation, House and Senate…We got everybody signed up in California to say to Administrator Zeldin, ‘Don't do this.’ Californians don't want to see this happen,” said Rep. Levin. “I represent so many Republicans that don't want to see the smog alerts come back, don't want to see the polluted air come back. We've got to stand up for clean air, we've got to stand up for a strong economy, and we've got to lead the future.”
Earlier today, Rep. Levin led 44 members of California’s Congressional Delegation in writing a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to maintain the Endangerment Finding for greenhouse gases and warning of the impacts of repealing the bedrock policy that enables the agency to fight climate change.
Read the full transcript of his remarks below:
Levin: Well, like Senator Padilla, I grew up in Southern California in the 1980s and I actually want to direct my comments to you guys back here. So when I was your age, we had smog alerts all the time that would keep us inside. Teachers would say, “You're not allowed to go out to play. We have to stay inside today because the air quality is bad, because of the particulate matter, or the ozone or whatever it may be.” I also remember running around the track. I went to high school near downtown Los Angeles, and you'd run one lap around the track, and your lungs would burn from all the stuff in the air.
But California got very aggressive, we got very smart, and we worked with our federal partners. We worked with the EPA, and we were able to do a tremendous amount. We were able to reduce ozone pollution by around 70%, and at the same time, California grew its economy 300%. So the notion that you can't clean up the environment and grow the economy at the same time is just flat out false. We've done it in California, the fourth largest economy in the world.
At the same time, what I see today from Lee Zeldin, somebody that I know. I've known Lee Zeldin, we served together here in Congress. What I see today really doesn't resemble the Lee Zeldin that served in Congress, to be honest with you. I see an EPA that has lost its way. The EPA was created, let's not forget, when Richard Nixon was President, the Clean Air Act had overwhelming bipartisan consensus, just a handful of people voted against. Same with the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, all the bedrock environmental laws that, growing up as a new environmental attorney, I have to admit to you, I thought would be around for the rest of my life. I never expected that we would see the entire framework of environmental law challenged all at once, and what we're seeing right now through the actions of the EPA threatens the future health of our young people. When you are my age and when you have kids and grandkids of your own, you want clean air to breathe, you want clean water to drink.
Just the same, I think it endangers the future of our economy, because what is going to happen is, we're going to cede our global leadership to China and other countries on the clean energy jobs of the future and the clean transportation jobs of the future.
And, on top of it all, it's going to mean higher energy prices for consumers, because clean energy is cheap energy, and cheap energy is clean energy. That's why Sean and I are going to be rolling out a bill called the Cheap Energy Act, all about renewables and transmission and all the other things that we think will lead to a better and cleaner future.
So I would just say this: I led a letter with virtually the entire California delegation, House and Senate, just as Ed did in Massachusetts and Lloyd tried to do in Texas. We got everybody signed up in California to say to Administrator Zeldin, “Don't do this.” Californians don't want to see this happen. I represent so many Republicans that don't want to see the smog alerts come back, don't want to see the polluted air come back. We've got to stand up for clean air, we've got to stand up for a strong economy, and we've got to lead the future.
And so with that, I just encourage the young people, stay involved, stay involved. And I'm so grateful that you're all here. I'm grateful to all the organizations that are here.
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