BUSINESSES BACK CLEAN AIR ACT

More Than 60,000 Firms in U.S. Business Groups Urge Congress to Support EPA, Caution That Clean Air Act Rule Delays Could Drive Up Business Costs; Firms Challenge the Notion That D.C.-Based Trade Lobbying Organizations Speak for All U.S. Businesses; Six-Month Delay in EPA Rules Will Mean Lost Workdays, Lower Productivity From Workers.
December 15, 2010 (PR Newswire via Digital Journal)

"…[T]he EPA and the Clean Air Act got a huge boost from large and small U.S. companies, when over 60,000 firms represented by 14 business organizations told Congress to keep the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Clean Air Act strong…[and] expressed concerned that the EPA's half-year delay of pending ozone (smog) rules will be costly to U.S. companies. The delay could result in higher health costs due to increased employee sick-day absenteeism and related medical costs borne entirely or partially by small and large U.S. companies."

[Joint letter to Congress:] "… (S)mall business owners support some of the key strategies needed to reduce pollution and transition to a clean energy economy… 61 percent of respondents agree that moving the country to clean energy is a way to restart the economy and make their businesses more competitive in the global economy…50 percent support comprehensive clean energy and climate policy ... Larger businesses also support EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act and understand that it has spurred innovation and economic value for the U.S."

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"The 14 leading U.S. business groups joining together to support the Clean Air Act are…Small Business Majority…Main Street Alliance…American Businesses for Clean Energy…Businesses for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP)…American Wind Energy Association…American Sustainable Business Council…Manhattan Chamber of Commerce…South Carolina Small Business Chamber…Women's Business Development Center…Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility…Oregon Small Business for Responsible Leadership…The Center for Small Business and the Environment…New Voice of Business…and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2)…[T]he organizations include more than 60,000 firms, ranging from some of the nation's largest companies to small "mom and pop" Main Street retailers and other firms…"

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"…[The Clean Air Act’s Economic Benefits; Past, Present and Future] issued in October 2010 by Small Business Majority found that…in the last two decades, emissions of the most common air pollutants have declined by 41 percent, while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased by more than 64 percent…[and] concluded that the Clean Air Act has spurred important technological innovations, such as catalytic converters, that have made the United States a world leader in the export of environmental export technologies. These exports grew by 130 percent between 1993 and 2003, and were valued at $30 billion in 2004.

"In addition to indicating strong U.S. business support for the Clean Air Act and the EPA, the groups cautioned that the EPA's recent decision to delay moving ahead with an ozone pollution rule by six months will come with a real price tag in terms of sick workers and family members, resulting in lost workdays, lower productivity, and other adverse bottom-line impacts for companies. According to the EPA, the new smog standards would ‘help prevent up to 12,000 premature deaths and 58,000 cases of aggravated asthma and save up to $100 billion in health care costs…"