Americans want clean air, clean water, and a safe environment in our communities. But today, the majority of Americans live within 10 miles of polluted water - water that is unsafe for drinking, fishing, or swimming. Dirty air contributes to the deaths of over 60,000 Americans each year.

Fighting for clean air. Democrats fought to pass stronger smog standards as part of the Clean Air Act of 1990. We are fighting today to block GOP efforts that would weaken the Clean Air Act and are working to limit mercury, sulfur, nitrogen and carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Democrats support the rapid adoption of health-based standards for air toxins, to protect the air our children breathe.

Opposing Republican efforts to roll back limits on Mercury emissions. Republicans want to rescind a December 2000 EPA ruling which concluded that mercury emissions are a public health menace and required power plants to install equipment to achieve the maximum amount of emission reduction. The FDA recently warned women of childbearing age as well as children to limit their intaje of shellfish and tuna to 12 ounces a week because of potentially high levels of mercury.

Providing clean drinking water. Democrats led the fight to pass the Safe Drinking Water Act, and we are fighting Republican attempts to weaken it. Democrats successfully fought Republican efforts to roll back drinking water standards for arsenic, which may cause cancer, damage heart and blood vessels, and contribute to birth defects.