U.S. Congressman José E. Serrano ~ Representing the people of the 16th District of New York
2/25/2010
Serrano Earns 100% Rating from Leading Environmental Group
Today, Congressman Serrano discussed the honor of receiving a 100% rating from the League of Conservation Voters for his voting record in 2009:
"I am pleased that my voting record over the past year closely follows my convictions on the environment,” said Serrano. “In the past, I often heard that an elected official from the Bronx should worry about things other than the environment, like crime and poverty. I disagreed. I believe that we should focus on every issue that affects people’s quality of life, from crime to poverty to the environment and beyond. When we give up on the environment for people in our community, we are agreeing with the notion that we deserve less. That’s not true.
"The restoration of the Bronx River has been a huge environmental justice victory for the Bronx. More than a decade ago I began to fund an effort to clean up and bring back the Bronx River, which at the time was a mess. I believed then as I do now that the people of the Bronx deserved better than they were getting. Fast forward to today and we have a river that is beautiful and clean, and home to wildlife. Our community can use and enjoy its parks and green spaces. It is a treasure. But none of this would have happened if we had agreed that people in the Bronx had to focus on other things and shouldn’t dream about a clean river with green spaces.
"We continue to work on the Bronx River, as we continue also to fight against air pollution across our borough. We know that our high asthma rates are related to dirty air. We are working diligently on this problem, using methods such as helping to spur investments in alternative fuels, reducing truck idling, and increasing green transportation options. We know that our air in the Bronx is just as valuable as the air anywhere else in the nation. With the solutions we are pursuing, we move ever closer to a day when our air is clean and our asthma rates are lower. That day cannot come too quickly.