TODAY – Clean Air Act Showdown in Senate – Take action

Today the Senate is scheduled to vote on a series of polluter-backed amendments to the Clean Air Act. While the details differ, all these amendments have one thing in common – they aim to block or eliminate parts of the Act that would start the long-delayed process of rolling back the carbon pollution that will bring misery to millions through profound climate disruption.

Take Action. Call your Senators today.

The vehicle is a largely unrelated bill from Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) regarding small business, S. 493. Here’s the rundown:

• The Complete Denial of Science version: is the Upton-Inhofe amendment that stops the Clean Air Act in its tracks and permanently from taking on the threat of carbon pollution (McConnell #183),
• The coal-industry favors delay version aims to block action on carbon pollution for two years – as if we have haven’t waited long enough (Rockefeller #215),
• The industrial agriculture loophole bill exempts pollution from that sector (Baucus #236) from action by EPA,

And we MAY see Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) throwing in yet another polluter-favors  amendment, with language like Sen. Rockefeller’s but geared to please auto industry lobbyists.

Although none of these amendments are expected to garner 60 votes needed by Senate rules to overcome a filibuster, this is an exercise in politics, testing out messages and legislative language that will get wrapped into budget bills, forcing much higher-stakes showdowns in the future.

We need to send a strong signal that the Clean Air Act is not a political football and we won’t sacrifice the air we breathe as a favor to special interests. You can help. Take Action Now!!