Tom DeLay: U.S. Representative 22nd District of Texas

The United States Clean Air Act of 1970 is one of the most important environmental laws ever passed. Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to study the effects of air pollution on human health and the environment, and to establish appropriate outdoor air quality standards. These standards are designed to protect the public's health.

The Act was significantly amended in 1990 under the Bush Senior administration, providing even greater environmental protections. Former President George Bush, a pro-business conservative, claims the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments as one of the top achievements of his administration. Unfortunately, however, Tom DeLay's continuing "anti-environmental" effort jeopardizes these important strides toward improving air quality.

Tom DeLay attempted to eliminate the Clean Air Act through the following bills he has proposed during his service in the U.S. House of Representatives:

• "Repeal the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990" (HR 479 & HR 5217)
  
• "Repeal portions of the Clean Air Act dealing with toxic air emissions" (HR 473 and HR 5214)
• "Repeal provisions of the Clean Air Act dealing with stratospheric ozone protection" (HR 475 and HR 5216)
• "Repeal provisions of the Clean Air Act dealing with acid rain" (HR 474 and HR 5215)
• "Amend the Clean Air Act to repeal certain emissions standards for motor vehicles which have not yet taken effect" (HR 476)

(Friends of the Earth Action thanks Mother Jones magazine for permission to reprint the following excerpt. This excerpt is from a Sept./Oct. '96 Mother Jones article on Tom DeLay entitled "Sin of Emissions", written by Jan Reid.)
Excerpt:
"Tom DeLay gained notoriety for openly inviting industry lobbyists to help rewrite environmental regulations....House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R- Tex.) is nobody's fool. Sometimes he just goes out of his way to sound like one. The insecticide DDT? According to DeLay, it's perfectly safe. The bald eagle? Never approached extinction. Acid rain? All you gotta do is pour a little lime in a few lakes. Global warming? A myth and a fraud. "The Nobel appeasement prize," DeLay sneered when scientists researching ozone depletion won the award last year. The Environmental Protection Agency? "The gestapo of government," he fumes...

DeLay's chief passion is the wholesale deregulation of American business. More than any other politician, DeLay is responsible for the House's all-out assault on 25 years of bipartisan environmental regulation. In the past two years, he has tried to repeal the Clean Air Act, fought to cut the EPA's budget a third, and invited corporate lobbyists and contributors to pen legislation exempting their industries from environmental laws."