Americans, at our core, traditionally have aspired to be the best at what we do. First in flight. First on the moon. Leading in innovation and medical discovery. We strive to lead. And that definitely resonates here in Minnesota.

Recently, however, some members of Congress have initiated what I like to call a “Race to the Bottom” on every public policy from public health to education. Attacking key agencies that protect public health and safety, the Race to the Bottom agenda puts the interests of regular Americans aside and the interests of big corporations first.

Every year, coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other big polluters dump millions of tons of toxic pollutants into their air. These pollutants lead to more incidents of asthma attacks and heart attacks among seniors, people who work or exercise outside and our kids. New research shows that pollutants such as ozone smog are dangerous at levels that we once thought were safe.

Without clean air, asthmatic children suffer attacks and miss school. Adults and seniors with asthma fall ill and miss work as a result of dirty air. The true cost of clean-air safeguards is measured in asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature death, all triggered by air pollution. The cost also is measured in lost opportunity for innovation and development. More pollution doesn’t create jobs.

Unfortunately, U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., voted against clean-air safeguards when he voted for the TRAIN Act, which would allow polluters to continue pumping toxins into the air and which would cause up to 139,500 additional premature deaths.

Every single year, millions of children have asthma attacks linked to poor air quality. Because infants and children generally breathe more rapidly than adults, they have a higher rate of exposure to any pollutants in the air, and they are more susceptible to the health effects of air pollution because their immune systems and organs are still immature.

In a state like Minnesota, where more than 240,000 people suffer from asthma (60,000 of whom are children), that’s just unacceptable.

The facts are clear. Any action by Congress to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from updating the Clean Air Act, or any delay on behalf of the administration to avoid implementing new clean-air and industrial-pollution standards, is an attack on the health of our families and communities. The Race to the Bottom agenda will usher in a new era in America, one marked by higher pollution, dangerous air, poor public health, fewer jobs and less economic opportunity.

Our children deserve to breathe clean air and grow up healthy.

Will Steger
Ely

Will Steger is a polar explorer who established the Minneapolis-based Will Steger Foundation in 2006 to advocate climate-change solutions (facebook.com/ willstegerfoundation).