Rep. Stansbury: Clean Air is NOT up for Debate — it’s a Human Right

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Mr. Speaker, I don't even know if I can dignify a response to the things that I've heard here this morning. Perhaps we'll do another shower head resolution or utilities or something like that. But it's very clear that there is a war in the Middle East, runaway inflation, out-of-control costs, a partial government shutdown, and a madman in the White House. And what are our colleagues across the aisle calling us here today to do?

[00:00:28]To gut the Clean Air Act. Which is why I rise today in opposition to all three of these bills and in the strongest defense of the Clean Air Act, which is the bipartisan legislation that has protected the health of the American people and our planet for more than a half century. It was passed in 1970 with bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats. It was born out of NECESSITY WHEN SMOG CHOKED our cities and our communities suffered from unchecked pollution. It has delivered on a promise to the American people that no matter who you are or where you live, you have a fundamental human right to breathe clean air. There is nothing more basic than that right. It is a promise that has delivered. It has saved millions of lives, prevented countless illnesses, and improved air quality across the country. But as we know, it is under a threat not just in this chamber, but by an administration that has rolled back standards, weakened emissions, undermined the authority of the EPA, and gutted our climate commitments. And now, at a time, especially in the West, when we are facing record drought, record heat, and dangerously low snowpack, what are you all doing with your time on the floor? You are trying to further gut the fundamental program that protects our communities and our planet. That is why I rise today to oppose these bills. This is not permitting reform. This is gutting our right to breathe clean air.

[00:02:04]The Fences Act strips the EPA's authority. The Fire Act manipulates how air pollution is measured. And the Red Tape Act is perhaps the most alarming of all as it would silence communities and allow federal projects to move forward without consideration to our public health and to the planet.

[00:02:23]So, Mr. Speaker, let me just say this.

[00:02:26]The consequences of these bills are not abstract. They are measurable. And they will be measured in lives, in the well-being of our people, and damages to our planet. Because the Clean Air Act exists to protect the fundamental right of every American, every human, to breathe clean air. And that is why I oppose these bills unequivocally. And for the sake of our children, our communities, and our future, I urge my colleagues to vote no on these bills today.

[00:02:58]I yield back.