Ozone is a gas that can irritate the lining of the lungs, causing damage. It can reduce lung function and make it harder for you to breathe deeply. Car exhaust, chemicals and industrial facilities create ozone. High temperatures from climate change make ozone worse. Ozone contributes to what we call “smog.”1
As ozone increases, so do asthma rates. Research has directly linked ozone to asthma attacks.2 High levels of ozone even affects people with healthy lungs. Unless we take action now to clean our air, asthma rates will only get worse. And those with asthma will only suffer more.
Congress will be voting on the Ozone Standards Implementation Act. This bill would weaken the Clean Air Act. It will delay updated ozone standards, affecting the health of millions of Americans, especially those with asthma.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America opposes the Ozone Standards Implementation Act.
Help us let our lawmakers know we need clean air. It is necessary to protect everyone’s health. We urge you to take action and send this letter to Congress using our Action Alerts tool below:
Dear Congressman/Congresswoman,
Clean air is vital for good health, and the Clean Air Act promises all Americans air that is safe to breathe. As one of the nearly 26 million Americans living with asthma, I urge you to oppose the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017 (H.R. 806). This legislation, referred to as the “Smoggy Skies Act” by health organizations, delays lifesaving standards to reduce ozone pollution, or smog, and permanently weakens the Clean Air Act.
Scientific evidence clearly shows the need for greater protection from ozone pollution. This evidence drove the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to adopt stronger limits in 2015. The Smoggy Skies Act imposes unnecessary delays on the timeline set to meet these limits, and makes other sweeping changes to the act that will threaten the public’s health. Poor air quality particularly affects the health of children, seniors and people with chronic diseases such as asthma.
Under this proposed legislation, the EPA would have to wait as much as a decade to consider new evidence when setting safety standards. Ten years is far too long to wait to protect public health from levels of pollution that the science shows are dangerous.
Ozone and other forms of air pollution inflame the lungs, causing asthma attacks and lead to emergency room visits, hospitalizations and premature deaths.
The Smoggy Skies Act would delay implementation of protective air pollution standards for at least eight years. This means eight years of illnesses and premature deaths that can be avoided. The public has a right to know when the air they breathe threatens health, and Congress must not add eight years of delay to health protections and cleanup.
The Smoggy Skies Act is an attack on lifesaving standards that protect Americans. This bill is an extreme attempt to undermine our nation’s proven clean air health protections. H.R. 806 will hurt people with existing respiratory conditions such as asthma.
Please focus on the health of your constituents, particularly those with asthma and other respiratory diseases, and vote NO on H.R. 806.
How Can I Contact Congress?
Use our tool below to email this letter to your congressman/congresswoman to ask them to vote NO on this bill. You can also use our tool connect with your congressman/congresswoman on Twitter, Facebook or by phone. Just follow the steps:
JOIN NOW
References
1 Air Pollution. (2014, December 11). Retrieved July 06, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/climateand...ts/air_pollution.htm
2 (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2017, from https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=gooduphigh.index
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