Sponsor: John Carter, TX-31

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

An amendment offered by Carter (R-TX), to prevent EPA from limiting toxic emissions from cement plants. The amendment would block the EPA's efforts to keep 16,000 pounds of mercury a year out of the air.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

Carter Amendment to H.R. 1 passed the House 250-177.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dgoldston/anti-environmental_riders_in_h.html 

Sponsor: Gene Green, TX-29

WHY VOTES AGAINST THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

Unlike the other bills and amendments listed, this amendment would protect public health by striking section 206 of H.R. 4480, which would have undermined the Clean Air Act by requiring the consideration of feasibility and costs in revising or supplementing national ambient air quality standards for ozone, instead of setting the standards based strictly on what is necessary to protect public health.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

Green Amendment failed to pass the House, 174-244.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/edavis/polluted_politics_even_the_gas.html

Sponsor: Harold Rogers, KY-5

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 contains 19 anti-environmental riders that guts the Clean Air Act and all but dismantles the Environmental Protection Agency. It includes both arbitrary, destructive cuts of up 60% for the EPA's FY2011 budget (30% cuts for the remaining 6 months of the year = 60%), and 19 different industry requested policy riders to prevent EPA from enforcing its legal obligations to protect public health from air toxics, water pollution and to carry out the laws previous Congresses have required EPA to do.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

H.R. 1 passed the House 235-189 and was taken up in the Senate before being returned to the Calendar.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/sslesinger/the_senate_to_vote_on_the_wors.html

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dgoldston/anti-environmental_riders_in_h.html

Sponsor: Kristi L. Noem, SD

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

The Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011 does the following: (1)fundamentally rewrites and weakens the Clean Air Act to interfere with EPA's study of the science of coarse particle pollution; (2) introduces a vague and expansive definition of "nuisance dust" that would exempt much dangerous PM10 and PM2.5 industrial pollution across the United States from Clean Air Act regulation; and (3) it makes it more difficult for states to meet health-based air quality standards to protect their citizens against PM10 and PM2.5 pollution.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

H.R. 1633 passed the House 268-150 and was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/this_week_i_testified_before.html

Sponsor: Morgan H. Griffith, VA-9

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

Also known as the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 severely weakens and delays Clean Air Act safeguards slated to reduce mercury, toxic metals, acid gases and other hazardous air pollution from incinerators and other industrial polluters. The bill weakens the Clean Air Act in the following ways: (1) Delays current compliance deadlines for industry by a minimum of 3.5 years; (2) Overturns federal court decisions interpreting the Clean Air Act; (3) Deletes provisions in the Clean Air Act that courts have upheld as unambiguously clear and protective; and (4) weakens the law's longstanding obligation to reduce hazardous air pollution based on the best performers in an industrial sector.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

H.R. 2250 passed the House 275-142 and was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/why_do_some_in_congress_want_t.html

Sponsor: John Sullivan, OK-1

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act of 2011 would indefinitely delay the Mercury and Air Toxics rule for power plants and the Cross-State Air Pollution rule until six months after a to-be-appointed group of cabinet level officials conducts a cumulative economic analysis of the impact of these (and many other) EPA rules for air, water, coal ash and climate change. The re-analysis would delay vital public health safeguards and lead to tens of thousands of premature deaths every year.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

H.R. 2401 passed the House 249-169, but was not taken up by the Senate.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/epepper/train_act_on_collision_course.html

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/oppose_train_act_the_worst_air.html

Sponsor: John Sullivan, OK-1

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

Also known as the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011, the bill proposes additional time for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue achievable standards for cement manufacturing facilities, overturning the current Clean Air Act standards that reduce mercury and other toxic air pollution from cement plants. The current compliance deadlines for the cement industry is at a minimum of 4-and-a-half years with this bill. Additionally, the bill allows an indefinite delay by eliminating any actual deadline once standards are re-issued.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

H.R. 2681 passed the House 262-161 but was not taken up by the Senate.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/cangelides/amidst_house_vote_new_research.html

Sponsor: Cory Gardner, CO-4

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

The Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, or DEJA, would use higher gas prices as an excuse to undermine longstanding clean air and other protections that have little, if any, impact on the price of gas. H.R. 4480 packaged several bills intended to strip away public health and environmental protections, including Whitfield's (R-KY) "Gas Regulations Act" (H.R. 4471). H.R. 4471 would delay, perhaps indefinitely, limits on refinery emissions, standards for sulfur in gasoline, and new smog standards. The bill would rewrite the Clean Air Act so that standards for widespread pollutants are no longer solely based on health.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

H.R. 4480 passed the House 248-163 and was not taken up by the Senate.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/epepper/tainted_wine_in_a_new_bottle.html 

Sponsor: Fred Upton, MI-6

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

Also known as the Asthma Aggravation Act of 2011, the proposed legislation blocks new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pollution standards for new cars for 2017 and beyond, increasing diver fuel bills and worsening oil dependency. This dependency is furthered by preventing EPA from setting these standards for planes, trains, ships, off-road equipment and industrial uses.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

H.R. 910 passed the House 255-172, but was not taken up by the Senate.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/rhwang/the_verdict_is_in_hr_910_is_ba.html

Sponsor: Robert E. Latta, OH-5

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

Filed by Representative Bob Latta (R-OH) the proposed legislation forces Environmental Protection Agency to set unprotective air quality standards. The amendment directs EPA to define air based equally on "feasibility and cost" for polluting industries. As such the standards would not be based on health science and medicine alone.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

Latta amendment to H.R. 2401 passed the House 227-192.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/extreme_dirty_air_amendments_l.html

Sponsor: Kristi Noem, SD

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

An amendment offered by Noem (R-SD), would block EPA from updating limits on the emission of particulates, essentially soot.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

Noem Amendment to H.R. 1 passed the House 255-168.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dgoldston/anti-environmental_riders_in_h.html 

Sponsor: Ted Poe, TX-2

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

Prohibits any funds appropriated or otherwise available for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from being used to implement or enforce: (1) a cap-and-trade program; or (2) any statutory or regulatory requirement pertaining to emissions of one or more greenhouse gases from stationary sources that is issued or becomes applicable or effective after January 1, 2011.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

Poe Amendment to H.R. 1 passed the House 249-177.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dgoldston/anti-environmental_riders_in_h.html 

Sponsor: Ed Whitfield, KY-1

WHY VOTES FOR THIS BILL ARE DIRTY VOTES

Offered by Ed Whitfield (R-KY), the amendment intends to block the power plant smog and soot standards already targeted by TRAIN for more than 8 years, costing over 12,000 lives every year. The amendment blocks the power plant mercury and air toxics standards for more than 3 years, costing up to 17,000 lives every year. Worth noting, like the TRAIN Act itself, the Whitfield amendment eliminates any actual deadline for EPA to re-issue smog, soot, mercury or air toxics standards, allowing these life-saving standards to be shelved indefinitely. The amendment thus repeals current law, which has imposed firm deadlines for EPA to issue air toxics standards for polluting industries ever since the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.

VOTE OUTCOME AND BILL STATUS

Whitfield amendment to H.R. 2401 passed the House 234-188.

SOURCES

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/extreme_dirty_air_amendments_l.html