From our friends at Physicians for Social Responsibility:

Members of Congress are attempting to roll back one of the most crucial standards of Clean Air Act protections. We must stop them!

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are now under attack, under the guise of the “Air Quality Standards Implementation Act of 2024” – although we refer to HR 7650 with a more apt name, the “Smoggy Skies Act.”

This is an outrageous attack, given the incredible work the NAAQS have accomplished at cleaning up pollution and saving lives since 1971.

The Smoggy Skies Act de-prioritizes health in several ways:

The NAAQS, our basic pollutant standards, are currently reviewed and revised every five years. This would be extended to every ten years, despite any technological or health breakthroughs that could take place during this time. Rather than basing new standards on health outcomes, the Smoggy Skies Act would give precedence to implementation costs and technological feasibility, even though these things are already taken into account under current NAAQS procedure.

We rely on the Clean Air Act and NAAQS to put health first and protect our most vulnerable, like front line communities, children, and the elderly. The passage of the Smoggy Skies Act puts all of us at risk by rolling back the decades of progress we have made in decreasing air pollution nationwide. In honor of Earth Month, let’s raise our voices on behalf of our planet. Please take action today to preserve the progress we have made in decreasing air pollution.

This bill could be voted on at any time, so don’t delay! Contact your Members of Congress today and tell them to vote NO on HR 7650, the Air Quality Standards Implementation Act of 2024.

Click here to take action or write your member of Congress directly to vote NO on HR 7650.

Thank you,

Miah Hornyak
Policy Coordinator, Environment & Health

Barbara Gottlieb
Director, Environment & Health