September 19, 2019 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Wednesday joined Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) and 18 Senate Democrats in introducing a new version of the Clean Air, Healthy Kids Act to repeal President Trump’s anti-climate agenda.

(Left) U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA)

“For the past two and a half years, the Trump administration has mounted an all-out assault on environmental protections that protect public health and help secure our future,” said Senator Harris. “Let’s be clear– climate change is real and it cannot be ignored. I’m proud to join my colleagues in legislation to undo the harmful environmental rollbacks put forth by this administration. We need to preserve our planet and protect future generations.”

First introduced in the last Congress, the Clean Air, Healthy Kids Act would block federal agencies from implementing the disastrous actions outlined in President Trump’s 2017 Executive Order 13783 that rescinded President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, repeal agency actions taken on climate change to implement the executive order, and put back in place the Obama Administration’s Climate Action Plan and the associated climate change regulations and policies. The legislation includes several key updates, including repealing the: 

·         Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Affordable Clean Energy Rule (rollback of the Clean Power Plan);

·         EPA and Bureau of Land Management’s Methane Standards for the Oil and Gas Industry Rollback;

·         EPA’s SAFE Rule (rollback of the Fuel Economy Standards) and rescinds the EPA’s ability to revoke the Clean Air Act waiver that has been granted to California to enforce emissions standards indefinitely;

·         Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency standards for appliances, including light bulbs; and

·         EPA’s Methane Emission Limits for Landfills.

The introduction of the Clean Air, Healthy Kids Act comes on the heels of Wednesday’s announcement that the EPA will soon launch a formal effort to revoke California’s Clean Air Act waiver, as well as Tuesday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to dismiss legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan.

Along with Harris, Feinstein, and Bennet, the Clean Air, Healthy Kids Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tom Udall (D-NM), Amy Klobuchar (D-MM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). 

The bill text is available HERE.
Source: Senator Kamala D. Harris