House Votes Against Saving Lives in Approving TRAIN Act

WASHINGTON (September 23, 2011) – The House today approved the deadly TRAIN Act, needlessly putting tens of thousands of lives at risk and threatening the health of thousands more by allowing indefinite delays of badly needed pollution protections.

Following is a statement by Franz Matzner, NRDC’s climate and legislative director:

“The House effectively tied the health of our children and all Americans to the tracks and plowed right over us today.

“By blocking clean air provisions that have been in the works for years, the TRAIN Act derails protections that studies show would prevent tens of thousands of deaths and hospital visits and millions of lost work and school days.

The TRAIN Act is part of the GOP’s alleged job plan, and at the top of a hit-list of anti-health and anti-environmental legislation that House Republicans will take up again when they return to Washington next month.

“Next in the GOP’s crosshairs are protections that would limit the toxic pollution from cement plants and other industrial polluters,” Matzner said.

“Hopefully while they’re back home next week, House members will get the message that pumping more soot into our air, more mercury into our fish, and more cancer-causing dioxins into our environment isn’t an economic plan.  It’s a polluter wish-list that will kill people.”

For more details on the deadly consequences of the TRAIN Act, see NRDC Clean Air Director John Walke’s blog here: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/oppose_train_act_the_worst_air.html and http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jwalke/extreme_dirty_air_amendments_l.html

For more information on the worst congressional attack on American health safeguards in history, see NRDC President Frances Beinecke’s blog here: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/fbeinecke/gop_leaders_resume_the_worst_a.html