Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers supports polluters over health of children
This just in from Kristina Dumas at Environment Washington, regarding the attacks on Clean Air Act updates that would allow unlimited carbon dioxide pollution, increase health risks - Including asthma - for thousands of Washington children and adults:
More 66,850 Washington residents in and around Representative McMorris Rodgers’ district with asthma, including 15,500 children, are at increased risk of adverse health consequences if she is successful in preventing the US EPA from updating Clean Air Act standards, according to data compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council and released by Environment Washington. Representative McMorris Rodgers has received more than $207,700 from polluters, many of which have made stopping the EPA a high priority.
Underscoring the severity of the problem, 609,000 residents statewide suffer from asthma including 145,000 children. EPA scientists have determined that carbon dioxide endangers public health, in part because it contributes to warmer temperatures, which make it easier for smog pollution to develop and harder to reduce it. Smog is particularly dangerous to asthma sufferers. Warmer temperatures are also associated with increased morbidity and mortality due to increased severe weather events, such as hurricanes and floods; the spread of infectious disease; and heat-related illnesses, all of which incur additional health care costs.
“Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers has turned her back on the health of families and children in her district, and instead has chosen to embrace corporate polluters,” said Kristina Dumas, Field Associate with Environment Washington. “As the EPA works to protect public health from dangerous carbon pollution, Congress should support their efforts, not stand in the way.”
The U.S. House passed a “Continuing Resolution” funding bill (HR 1) on Feb 19, 2011, which blocks EPA from limiting carbon pollution from power plants. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, offered the amendment (No. 466) to this bill that was adopted and which would block EPA’s limits on carbon pollution from cars, power plants and other industrial sources.
Representative McMorris Rodgers supported H.R. 1 and Rep. Poe’s amendment and is a co-sponsor of H.R. 97, which would permanently allow unlimited carbon pollution.
SOURCES: Asthma prevalence estimates are from the American Lung Association’s “Estimated Prevalence and Incidence of Lung Disease by Lung Association Territory” which can be found at http://www.lungusa.org/finding-cures/our-research/trend-reports/estimated-prevalence.pdf. Please note that the asthma data is by county. Estimates of asthma prevalence “in and around” specific districts include the prevalence estimates for each county wholly or partly within the district. In urban areas where several districts may all include different parts of the same county, numbers will appear to be the same. Campaign contributions information is from Open Secrets (http://www.OpenSecrets.org) and Federal Election Commission (http://www.fec.gov/disclosure.shtml) reports of contributions from oil and gas, electric utility, and coal and mining sectors. Top donors in these categories oppose key EPA safeguards.
Contact: Kristina Dumas, Environment Washington, (206) 568-2850 X 2008, kdumas@environmentwashington.org;