STATEMENT OF SENATOR BARBARA BOXER
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
Hearing on the Clean Air Act Conformity Program
July 14, 1999

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing today to consider the Clean Air Act's (CAA) conformity program.

In the wake of the enactment of TEA 21 and its $217 billion in new transportation spending, a strong CAA conformity program is needed now more than ever. The conformity program helps ensure that the nation's transportation needs are satisfied without sacrificing our health and the air we breathe.

As you know, Mr. Chairman, California suffers from some of the most serious air quality problems in the nation. Approximately 30 million Californian's live in counties that don't meet the CAA's health-based air standards. The Los Angeles basin, in fact, has the worst air quality in the nation.

The smog and soot that plagues the L.A region may have serious health consequences for the approximately 15 million people that live there.

A recent study, for example, found that air pollution in the L.A. region may impair children's long-term breathing capacity, leaving them vulnerable to respiratory disease and underdeveloped lungs. Asthma, which is exacerbated by air pollution, is also on the rise.

Against these air quality concerns, the transportation demands of California's burgeoning population are tremendous. From 1992 to 1997, the use of California's roads and highways climbed 40 percent. During a similar time period, traffic congestion in our urban areas has increased substantially -- 32 percent in the Bay Area, 29 percent in L.A., and 58% in San Diego.

And there is no end to these transportation demands in sight.

California's current population of approximately 32 million is expected to rise to 50 million by the year 2025. To put that increase in perspective, it will be as if the entire State of New York picked up and moved to California.

Without careful transportation planning, the demands created by this population surge could overwhelm our ability to keep our air clean.

In 1977, Congress had the foresight to recognize that states like California would face serious challenges in the areas of air quality and transportation planning, and decided to link the two by enacting the CAA conformity program. Congress again recognized the importance of the program by substantially strengthening the program in the 1990 amendments to the CAA.