WE ACT Condemns Actions Threatening State Rights to Protect Environmental Justice Communities Against Transportation Pollution & Climate Impacts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2025
Contact: ashley.sullivan@weact.org
WASHINGTON – Today, Congress voted to repeal California’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers, blocking states from their right to set stronger vehicle emissions standards than existing federal rules. Using the Congressional Review Act—an anti-democratic tool—this vote ignores Senate rules, undermines public health, removes protections for vulnerable communities, reverses 50 years of precedence, and opens up threats to other programs that also require waivers including Medicaid. California, New York, and 10 other states rely on these EPA waivers to combat air pollution and fight the climate crisis. Stripping states of this authority recklessly jeopardizes efforts to protect communities already facing disproportionate air pollution and health risks. In response, WE ACT’s Federal Policy Manager, Yosef Robele shared:
“Today Congress has decided to fundamentally deny states their rights to reduce pollution and protect public health. In environmental justice communities, people of color and lower income face the greatest rates of asthma and cancer. Children in the South Bronx, for example, face over double the average national risk of having asthma, and Northern Manhattan has one of the highest disease and death rates from asthma in the U.S. These disproportionate health disparities, in combination with the devastating real-time consequences of the climate crisis driven in large part by vehicle pollution – including extreme weather events – creates a public health nightmare.”
“This action enables a continued unjust assault on overburdened communities choking on diesel fumes. In several states, these communities have led progress on creating policies and investments that clean our air, but now Congress is attempting to destroy their achievements on behalf of polluters. A clean transportation sector benefits us all and we will continue to fight for one that’s healthier, cheaper, and accessible to everyone.”
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WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram.