Oppose H.R. 3893, the Gasoline for America’s Security Act of 2005
10/06/05

U.S. House
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative,

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the political voice of the national environmental community. Each year, LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, which details the voting records of Members of Congress on environmental legislation. The Scorecard is distributed to LCV members, concerned voters nationwide, and the press.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused tremendous devastation along the Gulf coast, and we appreciate the need to address the suffering and destruction that resulted. However, Congress should not exploit this national tragedy to weaken environmental and public health protections. LCV urges you to oppose H.R. 3893, the Gasoline for America's Security Act of 2005. This legislation severely weakens the Clean Air Act, which would lead to additional harmful air pollution. It also fails to increase energy efficiency or provide relief to consumers.

H.R. 3893 weakens the Clean Air Act by essentially repealing the New Source Review provisions that require older facilities to install modern air pollution equipment when they significantly increase emissions. While purporting to address issues of refinery capacity, this bill weakens requirements for more than 17,000 industrial facilities. The bill also limits the use of cleaner fuels, undermining the efforts of states to improve air quality. By limiting the use of cleaner fuels, H.R. 3893 will hamper the introduction of low-sulfur diesel fuel, which is estimated to save 20,000 lives per year. In addition, the bill unnecessarily extends Clean Air Act deadlines for ozone cleanup, putting millions of Americans at risk of adverse health effects such as asthma and other respiratory ailments.

The suffering of people in the Gulf coast should not be used as an excuse to weaken environmental protections or reward special interests. We urge you to stand up for environmental and public health protections by opposing H.R. 3893. We also urge you to support the Boehlert (R-NY) – Markey (D-MA) amendment to increase fuel economy standards for cars and trucks to 33 miles per gallon by 2015. LCV has scored votes on energy bills several times in the last four years, and the Political Advisory Committee will strongly consider including votes on these issues in compiling LCV's 2005 Scorecard. If you need more information, please call Tiernan Sittenfeld or Barbara Elkus in my office at (202) 785-8683.

Sincerely,

Deb Callahan
President, LCV