The bill passed today doesn’t just kick the can down the road – it ties the livelihoods of millions of Americans to the pet projects of the dirty energy industry, including the costly and dangerous Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, and stiff arms public input on transportation projects that will significantly impact communities. Just as reckless, the bill also would also put a weak and dangerous scheme in place that requires more protections on household trash than toxic coal ash, even though coal ash pollution leads to health risks like cancer, neurological disorders, birth defects, reproductive failure, asthma and other serious illnesses. The three million Americans whose jobs are on the line deserve an explanation from Boehner: how does allowing cancer-causing coal ash pollution have anything to do with transportation?
