As a result, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 was hailed a ‘historic breakthrough.’ The law addressed these difficult and complex problems with solutions that ensured low costs and long-lasting benefits for the environment and public health. “Congress mustered the courage and resolve to meet our nation’s air quality crisis with a response commensurate with the risks it posed. The worsening environmental and public health crises all around us were impossible to ignore, and they galvanized bipartisan momentum. Air toxics like mercury, lead and arsenic polluted the air we breathed and the fish we consumed, building up in our bodies, leading to higher rates of cancer and other deadly ailments. The cars, trucks and vans on our roads created smog that suffocated our communities. Acid rain fell from our skies, corroding our infrastructure, damaging our forests and polluting our waters. Power plants and factories emitted pollution that formed clouds of toxic soot. “How? Well, it was clear that our nation was facing an air quality crisis, and it was clear to both parties that this crisis demanded swift and sweeping action. Sweeping, progressive reforms were signed into law with overwhelming bipartisan support. And yet – despite all of the difficulty and division, the complexity of the issue and the fear of its costs – 400 members of the House and 89 senators sent the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 to Republican President George H.W. As Chairman Dingell said at the time, clean air was, ‘one of the most difficult, divisive, complex, costly and important issues’ that Congress ever had to confront. In the House, I had the privilege of working alongside the late John Dingell, who was the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

“In 1990, I was a member of the House of Representatives.

And, as we celebrate this progress, we are reminded what we can achieve by working together to meet our nation’s greatest challenges. We celebrate the millions of American lives saved and hundreds of millions of lives made better by this law. “Today, we celebrate the 30 th anniversary of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement to commemorate the 30 th anniversary of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

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