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WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Paul D. Tonko, Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), released the following statement in response to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s proposal to overturn the longstanding “endangerment finding” for greenhouse gases that has allowed three successive administrations to regulate climate pollution:

“The science and the law are clear and incontrovertible: greenhouse gas pollution threatens the public health and welfare of every American, and EPA has an obligation to reduce this pollution. Failure to do so puts us on a path to becoming a sicker, weaker, and poorer nation.

“During his confirmation hearing, Lee Zeldin promised to leave science to the scientists. Instead, he has embarked on a dangerous ideological campaign to erase climate science and deny the stark impact of climate change on the lives and livelihoods of American families.

“This action is just the latest in the Trump administration’s all-out crusade to undermine critical public health protections while promoting polluting industries and stifling the growth of cleaner, more affordable alternatives.

“While Donald Trump and his cronies deny science and imperil the health of millions of Americans, I won’t stop fighting to push for a cleaner, greener future.”