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GEN – Clean Air Act PRO Page |1

GEN – Clean Air Act – PRO


GENERAL BENEFITS.............................................................................................................2
1. The benefits of reduced health costs for children alone amount to $2 billion............................................2
2. Economic benefits outweigh the costs by a margin of four to one, according to a new EPA study.........2
3. Projections from the EPA study show that by 2010 CAA regulations will have averted 23,000 deaths,
1.7 million asthma attacks, 67,000 incidences of bronchitis, 91,000 occurrences of shortness of breath, 4.1
million lost workdays, 31 million days of restricted activity 22,000 respiratory-related hospital
admissions, 42,000 cardiovascular hospital admissions and 4,800 emergency room visits for asthma.......3
4. The economic benefits of CAA regulations are $110 billion, while the costs are just $27 billion – a
mere fraction of the benefits...............................................................................................................................3
5. Generic: Regulations addressing pollution represent the most effective means of lifting countries out
of poverty..............................................................................................................................................................3
6. Generic: MIT researchers found that the U.S. enjoyed an additional $5.4 trillion in market
consumption between 1975 and 2000 that would not have been available in the absence of air pollution
controls..................................................................................................................................................................4
7. The financial benefits of air regulations sharply contrast with the health effects of deregulation (i.e.
abolishing the CAA is very, very bad – we would lose the economic gains and suffer severe health effects
of pollution)...........................................................................................................................................................4
8. The economic activity we would lose by ending air regulations 3-4% of the entire U.S. market
consumption over a quarter century – the agriculture sector accounts for just 1%.....................................4
9. Amazing summary: The advantages from CAA regulations (up to $50 trillion) strongly outweigh the
costs ($500 billion)................................................................................................................................................5
10. MIT Study: Benefits from air pollution regulations rose from $50 billion in 1975 to $400 billion in
2000; total benefits were $5.4 trillion.................................................................................................................5

CONSTITUTIONALITY..........................................................................................................6
1. Professor of Law and legal scholar in constitutional law: The Clean Air Act should not be held
unconstitutional....................................................................................................................................................6
2. Supreme Court: Congress cannot do its job without the ability to delegate power..................................6
3. The U.S. Supreme Court: Congress cannot give legislative authority to anybody, but it may delegate
powers to others that the legislation exercises after giving the legislation (i.e. Congress can make the
legislation, and agencies can regulate according to that legislation)...............................................................6

Preston Black PSDC


GEN – Clean Air Act PRO Page |2

GENERAL BENEFITS
1. The benefits of reduced health costs for children alone amount to $2 billion
2. Economic benefits outweigh the costs by a margin of four to one, according to a new EPA study
3. Projections from the EPA study show that by 2010 CAA regulations will have averted 23,000 deaths, 1.7
million asthma attacks, 67,000 incidences of bronchitis, 91,000 occurrences of shortness of breath, 4.1 million
lost workdays, 31 million days of restricted activity 22,000 respiratory-related hospital admissions, 42,000
cardiovascular hospital admissions and 4,800 emergency room visits for asthma
4. The economic benefits of CAA regulations are $110 billion, while the costs are just $27 billion – a mere
fraction of the benefits
5. Generic: Regulations addressing pollution represent the most effective means of lifting countries out of
poverty
6. Generic: MIT researchers found that the U.S. enjoyed an additional $5.4 trillion in market consumption
between 1975 and 2000 that would not have been available in the absence of air pollution controls
7. The financial benefits of air regulations sharply contrast with the health effects of deregulation (i.e.
abolishing the CAA is very, very bad – we would lose the economic gains and suffer severe health effects of
pollution)
8. The economic activity we would lose by ending air regulations 3-4% of the entire U.S. market consumption
over a quarter century – the agriculture sector accounts for just 1%
9. Amazing summary: The advantages from CAA regulations (up to $50 trillion) strongly outweigh the costs
($500 billion)
10. MIT Study: Benefits from air pollution regulations rose from $50 billion in 1975 to $400 billion in 2000;
total benefits were $5.4 trillion

1. The benefits of reduced health costs for children alone amount to $2 billion

Carol Potera [writer for Environmental Health Perspectives (since 1996)], “Less Pollution, Less Earache?” Article Published in
Environmental Health Perspectives [a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news published by the U.S. National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services; mission is to serve as a
forum for the discussion of the interrelationships between the environment and human health by publishing in a balanced and objective manner
the best peer-reviewed research and most current and credible news of the field], December 2009,
http://ehsehplp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info:doi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.117-a540a [PB]

“The Clean Air Act revisions of 1990 strengthened the EPA’s enforcement of stringent regulations aimed at
improving air quality to benefit the nation’s health, with the added benefit of reducing medical costs. In the February 2004
issue of E[nvironmental] H[ealth] P[erspectives], Eva Y. Wong and colleagues estimated that reductions in air pollution by 2010 as a
result of the Clean Air Act could save up to $2 billion in children’s respiratory health costs alone. If the current findings bear out,
the savings could be substantial for otitis media costs, which may exceed $5 billion annually, according to a report in the June 2000 issue of Pediatrics.

2. Economic benefits outweigh the costs by a margin of four to one, according to a new EPA study

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “New Report Shows Benefits of 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments Outweigh Costs by
Four-to-One Margin,” November 16, 1999 News Release, Last updated in September 2009,
http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/caa90/10.htm [PB]

“The economic value of the public health and environmental benefits that Americans enjoy from the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990 exceed their costs by a margin of four to one, according to a new EPA study. The report
projects that the Clean Air Act Amendments and their associated programs prevent thousands of premature deaths
related to air pollution, and millions of asthma attacks as well as a wide range of additional human health and
ecological effect. ‘This Administration has enacted the most stringent public health and environmental standards ever while creating unprecedented economic growth,’ said President
Bill Clinton. ‘This report further demonstrates that public health and environmental benefits can be achieved along with economic benefits, and this Administration will continue to work
aggressively to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land on which we live.’ Using a sophisticated array of computer models and the latest emissions and cost data, the EPA
study shows that in the year 2010 the Amendments of 1990 will prevent 23,000 Americans from dying prematurely, and avert over 1,700,000 incidences of asthma attacks and aggravation of
chronic asthma. In addition, in 2010, they will prevent 67,000 incidences of chronic and acute bronchitis, 91,000 occurrences of shortness of breath, 4,100,000 lost work days, and 31,000,000
days in which Americans would have had to restrict activity due to air pollution related illness. Plus, 22,000 respiratory-related hospital admissions would be averted, as well as 42,000
The report, the most comprehensive and extensive
cardiovascular (heart and blood) hospital admissions, and 4,800 emergency room visits for asthma.
assessment of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments ever conducted, was the subject of extensive peer review during
which independent panels of distinguished economists, scientists, and public health experts provided in-depth
assessment and advice throughout the study’s design, implementation, and documentation.”

Preston Black PSDC


GEN – Clean Air Act PRO Page |3

Preston Black PSDC


GEN – Clean Air Act PRO Page |4

3. Projections from the EPA study show that by 2010 CAA regulations will have averted 23,000 deaths, 1.7
million asthma attacks, 67,000 incidences of bronchitis, 91,000 occurrences of shortness of breath, 4.1 million
lost workdays, 31 million days of restricted activity 22,000 respiratory-related hospital admissions, 42,000
cardiovascular hospital admissions and 4,800 emergency room visits for asthma

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “New Report Shows Benefits of 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments Outweigh Costs by
Four-to-One Margin,” November 16, 1999 News Release, Last updated in September 2009,
http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/caa90/10.htm [PB]

“Using a sophisticated array of computer models and the latest emissions and cost data, the EPA study shows that in
the year 2010 the Amendments of 1990 will prevent 23,000 Americans from dying prematurely, and avert over
1,700,000 incidences of asthma attacks and aggravation of chronic asthma. In addition, in 2010, they will prevent
67,000 incidences of chronic and acute bronchitis, 91,000 occurrences of shortness of breath, 4,100,000 lost work
days, and 31,000,000 days in which Americans would have had to restrict activity due to air pollution related illness.
Plus, 22,000 respiratory-related hospital admissions would be averted, as well as 42,000 cardiovascular (heart and
blood) hospital admissions, and 4,800 emergency room visits for asthma.”

4. The economic benefits of CAA regulations are $110 billion, while the costs are just $27 billion – a mere
fraction of the benefits

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “New Report Shows Benefits of 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments Outweigh Costs by
Four-to-One Margin,” November 16, 1999 News Release, Last updated in September 2009,
http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/caa90/10.htm [PB]

[the] EPA’s best estimate is that in 2010 the benefits of


“For those health and ecological benefits which could be quantified and converted to dollar values,
Clean Air Act programs will total about $110 billion. This estimate represents the value of avoiding increases in
illness and premature death which would have prevailed without the clean air standards and provisions required by
the Amendments. By contrast, the detailed cost analysis conducted for this new study indicates that the costs of
achieving these health and ecological benefits are likely to be only about $27 billion, a fraction of the economic value of
the benefits.”

5. Generic: Regulations addressing pollution represent the most effective means of lifting countries out of
poverty

Tim Lougheed [a writer and editor specializing in science, medicine and education ], “Economics: The Clear Advantage of
Clean Air,” Article Published by Environmental Health Perspectives [a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and
news published by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human
Services; mission is to serve as a forum for the discussion of the interrelationships between the environment and human health by publishing in a
balanced and objective manner the best peer-reviewed research and most current and credible news of the field], March 2006,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392269/ [PB]

“Regulations addressing environmental problems such as air pollution might be dismissed as a luxury for rich
countries that can afford it, but members of the UN Environment Program insist that such measures actually
represent the most effective means of lifting countries out of poverty. At a major gathering of environment ministers in the United Arab Emirates in
February 2006, UNEP executive director Klaus Töpfer cited the increasing cost and demand for fossil fuels as key reasons why many rapidly developing countries were taking a closer look at
environmental degradation, which can have profound consequences. ‘That is now the bottleneck to future economic development,’ he said.”

Preston Black PSDC


GEN – Clean Air Act PRO Page |5

6. Generic: MIT researchers found that the U.S. enjoyed an additional $5.4 trillion in market consumption
between 1975 and 2000 that would not have been available in the absence of air pollution controls

Tim Lougheed [a writer and editor specializing in science, medicine and education ], “Economics: The Clear Advantage of
Clean Air,” Article Published by Environmental Health Perspectives [a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and
news published by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human
Services; mission is to serve as a forum for the discussion of the interrelationships between the environment and human health by publishing in a
balanced and objective manner the best peer-reviewed research and most current and credible news of the field], March 2006,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392269/ [PB]

researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who


“The extent of the economic implications of this bottleneck is being outlined by
have expanded a well-established economic model to put some numbers to the economic disadvantages created by
unregulated air pollution. Those numbers are quite big, as it turns out. In a July 2004 report titled Economic Benefits
of Air Pollution Regulation in the USA: An Integrated Approach, they calculated that the United States enjoyed an
additional $5.4 trillion in market consumption between 1975 and 2000 that would not have been available without
the implementation of air pollution controls.”

7. The financial benefits of air regulations sharply contrast with the health effects of deregulation (i.e.
abolishing the CAA is very, very bad – we would lose the economic gains and suffer severe health effects of
pollution)

Tim Lougheed [a writer and editor specializing in science, medicine and education ], “Economics: The Clear Advantage of
Clean Air,” Article Published by Environmental Health Perspectives [a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and
news published by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human
Services; mission is to serve as a forum for the discussion of the interrelationships between the environment and human health by publishing in a
balanced and objective manner the best peer-reviewed research and most current and credible news of the field], March 2006,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392269/ [PB]

“For coauthor John Reilly, associate director of research with MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of
Global Change and the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, [the benefits of air regulations] dwarf the less
than $1 trillion that the EPA estimates the controls cost. More importantly, this financial benefit contrasts sharply
with the widespread health effects of leaving remaining air pollution unregulated. ‘It’s causing your workers to be
ill, and your children not to be able to advance,’ he argues. ‘It’s going to slow the economy.’”

8. The economic activity we would lose by ending air regulations 3-4% of the entire U.S. market consumption
over a quarter century – the agriculture sector accounts for just 1%

Tim Lougheed [a writer and editor specializing in science, medicine and education ], “Economics: The Clear Advantage of
Clean Air,” Article Published by Environmental Health Perspectives [a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and
news published by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human
Services; mission is to serve as a forum for the discussion of the interrelationships between the environment and human health by publishing in a
balanced and objective manner the best peer-reviewed research and most current and credible news of the field], March 2006,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392269/ [PB]

“Using the Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model, which has already been used to estimate the
costs of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, Reilly and his colleagues incorporated measures of human health in
order to consider the benefits. Rather than employing only basic multipliers for illness, lost lives, or medical
expenditures, the algorithms were broadened with published health data on the occurrence of specific diseases that
could be linked to air pollution, such as asthma. By including pollutant exposures, ability to work, and health effects
on different age groups over time, the model compared actual economic performance with what would have
happened in the absence of regulations. The tally wound up representing 3-4% of the entire U.S. market
consumption over a quarter of a century. By comparison, the entire agricultural sector accounts for just 1%.”

Preston Black PSDC


GEN – Clean Air Act PRO Page |6

9. Amazing summary: The advantages from CAA regulations (up to $50 trillion) strongly outweigh the costs
($500 billion)

Jonathan D. Hierl [assistant vice president at the Deutsche Bank], “Topic Area: Air Pollution,”
2003  Review  of  the  Clean  Air  Act, http://www.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/airpoll.htm [PB]

“Many costs were associated with implementation of the CAA and its amendments. The most significant costs associated with the CAA
were requirements for installation, operation, and maintenance of new capital equipment needed to reach the new standards. There were also numerous costs to design and implement regulations,
In the EPA’s 1997 report to the US Congress, the total
regularly record and report compliance, and investments for related research and development.
value of direct expenditures from 1970 to 1990 that were consequences of the CAA were estimated to be $523
billion in 1990 dollars (‘Benefits...’ 10). Non-attainment counties faced more costs than the attainment counties following enactment of the 1970 regulations. The attainment
counties were in compliance with the federal standards and violating contributors were not evaluated as closely as those in the non-attainment areas (Greenstone 1213). This put firms in the non-
attainment counties at a greater competitive disadvantage that those in the attainment areas. Michael Greenstone evaluated evidence of this imbalance in a study in 2002. Greenstone found that
from 1972-1987, relative to the attainment areas, non-attainment counties lost approximately 590,000 jobs, $37 billion in capital stock, and $75 billion of output in polluting industries (p1213).
The direct benefits of the regulations are reflected in the emission reductions observed following 1970. SO2 levels
decreased 40% by 1990, mostly attributed to utilities installing scrubbers or switching to lower-sulfur fuel. Nitrogen
Oxide levels decreased by 30%, mostly achieved through installation of catalytic converters to highway vehicles.
Volatile Organic Compounds lowered by 45% and [Carbon Monoxide] levels lowered by 50%, mostly attributed to
other vehicle controls. The reductions in use of lead in gasoline reduced [lead] emissions from approximately
237,000 tons to 3,000 tons by 1990, about an incredible 99% reduction. A number of other hazardous pollutant
emissions were reduced over the 1970 to 1990 period as well. The EPA estimated the benefits of reductions in these
pollutants. Estimates of the benefits included the prevention of over 45,000 annual deaths, 13,000 heart attacks, and
7,000 strokes (Sunstein 307) in addition to many other health benefits associated with pollution reduction. In their major
report to Congress, the benefits of the new regulations were valued monetarily using a process of economic
valuation, and were estimated to range between $5.6 and $49.4 trillion. Relative to the approximate $0.5 trillion
estimated in costs, the net benefit found by the EPA strongly outweighs the costs.”

10. MIT Study: Benefits from air pollution regulations rose from $50 billion in 1975 to $400 billion in 2000;
total benefits were $5.4 trillion

Sergey Paltsev et al. [Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Colorado (2001); Research Scientist in Economics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2002-present)], Trent Yang [Director of Entrepreneurship and Business Development at the Renewable
and Sustainable Energy Institute], Kira Matus [Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard University (2005-2009); Master’s of Science Degree in
Technology and Policy from MIT (2005); Senior Policy Analyst at Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale] & John Reilly
[Senior Lecturer in Applied Economics at the Center for Environmental Policy Research], “Economic Benefits of Air Pollution Regulation in the
USA: An Integrated Approach,” Report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and
Policy of Global Change [an organization for research, independent policy analysis, and public education in global environmental
change], January 2005, http://www.sehn.org/tccpdf/regulation%20benefits%20air%20pollution%20MIT.pdf [PB]

“We found that the benefits [from air pollution regulations] rose steadily from 1975 to 2000 from $50 billion (1997 USD)
to $400 billion (1997 USD) (from 2.1% to 7.6% of market consumption). The total benefits realized over the period equaled $5.4 trillion, a
large benefit but much less than the U.S. EPA estimate of $27.6 trillion.”

Preston Black PSDC


GEN – Clean Air Act PRO Page |7

CONSTITUTIONALITY
1. Professor of Law and legal scholar in constitutional law: The Clean Air Act should not be held
unconstitutional

Professor Cass R. Sunstein [Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, American legal scholar in the fields of constitutional
law, environmental law, and other forms of law (administrative law, environmental law, and law and behavioral economics); current
Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs; with a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School
(1978)], “Is the Clean Air Act Unconstitutional?” Chicago Public Law and Legal Theory Working Paper No. 3, The University of Chicago Law
School, Last revised November 30, 2003, http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=177688 [PB]

“In this Article I have argued that EPA (and other agencies involved in similar tasks) should offer a detailed ‘benefits analysis.’ The central goal of this approach would be to create
a kind of federal common law of environmental protection, generated in the first instance by administrative agencies, and designed to promote consistency and rationality in the protection of
defended a form of democracy-promoting minimalism for administrative law – the particular form
health and safety. I have also
of minimalism that is embodied in the remand, often (and increasingly) unaccompanied by invalidation. The Clean
Air Act should not be held unconstitutional, and EPA should not be required, on pain of constitutional invalidation,
to come up with a ‘generic unit of harm’ to encompass population affected, severity, and probability. The new non-
delegation doctrine is a large mistake. On the other hand, ordinary judicial review should require any national ambient air quality standard to be accompanied by an
adequate explanation of why that level, rather than one more or less stringent, has been selected. By itself, this requirement calls (to the extent feasible) for a high degree of quantification from
EPA; it also bears on the performance of other regulatory agencies entrusted with the task of promoting health, safety and the environment. It also calls for invalidation, and not merely remand,
where the agency is unable to offer an explanation of its choice of one level of regulation rather than another. A requirement of this kind would mark a key moment in the shift from the rigidity
and simplicity of 1970s environmentalism toward a new and more promising approach – one that places a high premium on assessing the magnitude of problems, ensuring consistency across
regulations, limiting interest-group power, acquiring better information, and authorizing democratic control of regulatory choices.”

2. Supreme Court: Congress cannot do its job without the ability to delegate power

Professor David Schoenbrod [expert on the delegation of executive powers, federal regulation, injunctions, air pollution, and institutional
reform litigation; Professor of Law at the New York Law School] & Jerry Taylor [Researcher in Environmental Policy with a Bachelor’s of
Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Iowa], “Delegation of Legislative Powers: Separation of Powers: The Bulwark of
Liberty,” the CATO Handbook for Congress, the CATO Institute, 2002 (date inferred from latest “suggest readings” source date),
http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb105-4.html [PB]

the Supreme Court argued


“Perhaps the most widely accepted justification for some degree of delegation is the complex and technical nature of the world we live in today. As
in 1989, ‘Our jurisprudence has been driven by a practical understanding that in our increasingly complex society,
replete with ever changing and more technical problems, Congress simply cannot do its job absent an ability to
delegate power under broad general directives.’”

3. The U.S. Supreme Court: Congress cannot give legislative authority to anybody, but it may delegate
powers to others that the legislation exercises after giving the legislation (i.e. Congress can make the
legislation, and agencies can regulate according to that legislation)

The U.S. Supreme Court decided in Wayward v. Southard, March 15, 1824, http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?
navby=case&court=us&vol=23&invol=1 [PB]

“It will not be contended that Congress can delegate to the Courts, or to any other tribunals, powers which are
strictly and exclusively legislative. But Congress may certainly delegate to others, powers which the legislature may
rightfully exercise itself. Without going farther for examples, we will take that, the legality of which the counsel for the defendants admit. The 17th section of the Judiciary Act,
and the 7th section of the additional act, empower the Courts respectively to regulate their practice. It certainly will not be contended, that this might not be done by Congress. The Courts, for
example, may make rules, directing the returning of writs and processes, the filing of declarations and other pleadings, and other things of the same description. It will not be contended, that these
things might not be done by the legislature, without the intervention of the Courts; yet it is not alleged that the power may not be conferred on the judicial department.”

Preston Black PSDC

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