Dear Friends:

        As the Republican House Majority continues its assault on America's environment and public health, I wanted to make you aware of a letter that I—along with 55 colleagues—sent to Speaker Boehner to make clear that anti-environment policy restrictions have absolutely no place in any fiscal year 2011 spending bill.

       The House Republican Majority's legislation to fund the federal government through the rest of fiscal year 2011 included 19, yes 19, restrictive anti-environment provisions that had no relevance to the national budget and no place in a spending bill.  Yet, the House Majority snuck in these provisions—known as "riders"—because it's their best opportunity to eviscerate critical environmental protection regulations without going through the full legislative process.

       Among the lowlights: the bill would strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its Supreme Court mandated authority to regulate greenhouse gases; would block regulations that limit emissions containing mercury, lead, and arsenic; and would open the Arctic for potentially disastrous oil drilling.

       The Majority's attacks on the environment continued today with H.R. 910, a bill that would bar the EPA from implementing any regulations to mitigate global warming. This type of measure is at the heart of the Republican Majority's misguided and reckless anti-science, anti-environment, anti-public health agenda that's bad for our health, bad for our environment, and bad for our economy.

       Anti-environment riders are unacceptable. In addition, I will oppose environmental policy changes that only serve to roll back critical regulations and prevent the EPA from doing its job, such as H.R. 910.  Rest assured I will continue to do all I can to fight this agenda and to preserve and strengthen the essential environmental protections that have been of such a great benefit to our nation.

Sincerely,

Gary L. Ackerman