Alexandria Officials Call on Senators to Protect Our Lungs

Good news: your Alexandria elected officials are looking out for your lungs. Recently, seven local leaders asked Senators Warner and Kaine to oppose a dangerous set of proposals. As Congress negotiates what to do about the budget, some members have said they may try to pass provisions that would weaken or delay lifesaving protections against air pollution.

Senator Adam Ebbin, Mayor William Euille, and City Council Members John Chapman, Allison Silberberg, Paul Smedberg, and Justin Wilson sent a letter to Senators Warner and Kaine urging that they put public health first. 

“Congress should not jeopardize safe, healthy air for all to breathe for any reason, and certainly not in response to extreme demands of polluters and their allies in Congress during a time of fiscal crisis,” read the letter.

The measures that have been proposed include preventing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from cleaning up dangerous carbon pollution from power plants and sulfur from gasoline. EPA is working on measures that would clean up both of these pollutants and prevent thousands of premature deaths.

The city already suffers from more than its share of air pollution, earning an F for its smog levels in the American Lung Association’s 2013 State of the Air Report. If Congress were to pass an amendment keeping EPA from doing its job to clean up this dangerous pollution, it could further endanger the health of local residents – particularly Alexandria’s 2,157 kids and 10,357 adults with asthma and 6,583 with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

“We look forward to a day when adults and children do not miss a single day of work or school due to unsafe levels of pollution in the air,” said the letter. “Please help us realize this vision by rejecting efforts by some in Congress to undermine the Clean Air Act’s vital public health protections. Please help us defend a fundamental human right: Healthy air for all to breathe.”