Madison Community Leaders Call on the Trump Administration to Protect Public Health

Today, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, and other community leaders gathered to call on the Trump administration to maintain federal clean car standards. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt directed his agency to review these standards with the likely intention of weakening them. Rolling back these popular and effective standards would negatively impact Wisconsin’s drivers, economy, and environment.

In a press conference hosted by the Sierra Club, speakers thanked U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin for protecting public health.

“This issue is about much more than economics and the auto industry,” said Madison Mayor Paul Soglin. “It is about sustainability and social justice. Air pollution disproportionately affects the elderly and low income and those people do not have a voice in this process. We all need to stand up and oppose these changes.”

America’s clean car standards, which were finalized in 2012, help ensure that cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs are more fuel-efficient, saving drivers money every trip to the gas station. Speakers urged the Trump administration to keep these standards and point to local efforts to protect public health and save taxpayers money.

“Maintaining our commitment to fuel efficient vehicles is an effective, common sense approach to addressing climate change and air pollution. These standards also save us money at the pump and are good for our health and the local economy,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi.

“America’s clean car standards save families money and reduce air pollution,” said Bill Davis, Director of the Sierra Club John Muir Chapter. “Rolling these standards back would damage Wisconsin’s economy and the health of its citizens.”

Cleaner, more efficient vehicles also reduce air pollution and combat climate change – helping to prevent harmful health impacts like asthma attacks triggered by dirty air.
Speakers concluded by calling on Washington leaders to protect the standards which could create more than 6,000 jobs for Wisconsin.