Thursday, February 17, 2005

Illinois PIRG : Victory for Clean Air!

Dear Illinois PIRG supporter,

Thanks to all of your calls and the lobbying of our advocates from across the country, yesterday's scheduled vote on the Bush administration's air pollution plan was postponed. Senator Inhofe, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, postponed the vote because he did not have the support of enough senators to pass the legislation.

This is a great victory for PIRG - and for the hundreds of millions of Americans who want to breathe clean air. And, we couldn't have done it without the over 800 calls into our senators' offices. Indeed, when we presented an award on Tuesday night to the first PIRG alumnus in the U.S. Senate - Illinois Senator Barack Obama - he cited PIRG's grassroots support as an important factor in his decisions on the environment and consumers.

One of your senators is on the committee and was instrumental in this victory. Please make a quick call thanking him/her for standing up for clean air and for public health. Key members of the committee are: Lincoln Chafee (RI), Barack Obama (IL), Max Baucus (MT), Thomas Carper (DE), James Jeffords (VT), Joseph Lieberman (CT), Barbara Boxer (CA), Hillary Clinton (NY), and Frank Lautenberg (NJ).

To reach your senator, call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Here's a sample message you can leave:

"Hi, I'm calling to thank the senator for standing up for the environment and for public health by not supporting the Bush administration's dirty air pollution plan. I hope the senator continues to do everything in his/her power to prevent any rollback of existing clean air protections."

Then, let us know you called so we can keep track of the number of calls made. This is an important part of our work. To report your call, click on the link below or paste it into your web browser:

http://www.pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=9&id4=ES


The victory is sweet, but the fight is not over. Senator Inhofe wants to bring the bill up for a vote again in two weeks. During that time polluter lobbyists and the Bush administration will be lobbying hard to change the votes of swing senators on the committee. We'll be working hard to encourage senators on the committee to stand strong and not cut any deals that would result in the weakening of existing clean air protections.

Thank you for your help!

Sincerely,

Rebecca D. Stanfield
Illinois PIRG Environmental Attorney
RebeccaS@illinoispirg.org
http://www.IllinoisPIRG.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.

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