Berkeley, CA — In a failure of leadership and a blatant handout to industry, the House of Representatives has approved S.J.Res. 31, which dismantles critical protections under the Clean Air Act, allowing over 1,800 of the nation’s largest industrial polluters, including waste incinerators, refineries, and chemical plants, to increase their toxic emissions with fewer restrictions.
In this deeply troubling move, which allows major polluters to reclassify themselves as “minor sources,” Congress cleared the path for these facilities to avoid installing or maintaining pollution controls. As a result, we face a greater risk of cancers, birth defects, reproductive harm, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, and other serious health threats. All of this protects industry’s bottom line.
“This vote is both disgraceful and dangerous,” said Denaya Shorter, Senior Director of GAIA’s US and Canada Regional Program. “Our communities are once again treated as sacrifice zones so corporations can continue to profit. Congress has shown exactly where their priorities lie—and it’s not with the people they were elected to serve.”
This decision will hit environmental justice communities hardest. For generations, Black, Brown, Indigenous, and frontline neighbors have borne the daily burden of industrial pollution. Now, Congress has deepened that harm.
This resolution passed 216–212, with all Democrats and one Republican opposing it. The Republican-controlled Senate approved the same measure earlier this month. GAIA commends the lawmakers who stood up for clean air protections and will continue to advocate tirelessly for policies that safeguard the health of all communities.
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The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) is a member-based, environmental justice network working at the intersection of waste, climate, and justice. In the United States and Canada, GAIA supports grassroots organizations that advance zero waste solutions, challenge the plastics and petrochemical industries, reduce methane emissions, and promote safe, sustainable practices for electric vehicle battery production and recycling.
Press contact:
María Guillén, Communications Coordinator, US and Canada
Released: May 23, 2025