20 Surveys: Strong Opposition Nationally and in Key Districts to U.S. House Members' Actions to Block Public Health Protections

National Survey Shows Bipartisan Public Support for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Surveys Also Conducted in Speaker Boehner's Congressional District and 18 Others in IL, MI, MN, MT, OH, PA, VA and WI.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A strong majority of registered voters across the United States – including those in all 19 key Congressional Districts polled – oppose the U.S. House votes last week to block the Environmental Protection Agency from updating clean air safeguards needed to protect the health of Americans, according to major new Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey results released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The survey results show that all 19 of the House members – including U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Tea Party leader Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. – who supported blocking the EPA are out of step with their constituents.

Nationwide, about six out of 10 Americans (58 percent) – including 55 percent of Independents and roughly half (48 percent) of Republicans – oppose the U.S. House vote to "block the EPA from limiting carbon dioxide pollution," according to the survey of 784 registered voters conducted February 18-20, 2011 by PPP for NRDC.  Additionally, more than two thirds of Americans (68 percent) – including 54 percent of Republicans and 59 percent of Independents – said the EPA should move ahead to "reduce carbon pollution without delay."

In separate surveys conducted in 19 Congressional Districts, PPP asked registered voters if they agreed with their member of Congress' decision to vote for legislation barring the EPA from updating clean air safeguards.  In all 19 districts polled, respondents across the political spectrum said they oppose their representative's votes to handcuff the EPA and think instead that Congress should let the agency do its job of protecting public health and the environment.

The average level of public opposition to the anti-EPA votes across the 19 Congressional Districts was 66 percent – including 45 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of Independents.  For a full overview of the 19 surveys, go to http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/paltman/2-23%20Poll%20Table.pdf.

PPP polled registered voters in the following Congressional districts in eight states:  Illinois (Reps. Joe Walsh, IL-8, Robert Dold, IL-10, and Bobby Schilling, IL-17); Michigan (Reps. Daniel Benishek, MI-1, and Mike Rogers, MI-8); Minnesota (Reps. Michele Bachmann, MN-6, and Chip Cravaack, MN-8); Montana (Rep. Denny Rehberg (MT-At Large); Ohio (House Speaker John Boehner, OH-8, and Reps. Patrick Tiberi, OH-12, and Jim Renacci, OH-16); Pennsylvania (Reps. Jason Altmire, PA-4, Jim Gerlach, PA-6, Patrick Meehan, PA-7, Lou Barletta, PA-11); Virginia  (Reps. Robert Hurt, VA-5, Scott Rigell, VA-2); and Wisconsin (Reps. Reid Ribble, WI-8, and Sean Duffy, WI-7).

"The message here is as clear as clean air: In every district we polled, Americans want their elected representatives to let the EPA do its job instead of putting the profit-driven agenda of big polluters ahead of the health of their children," said Peter Altman, Climate Campaign Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Politicians who are considering blocking the EPA and updates to Clean Air Act safeguards should understand that doing so is very unpopular. Americans know where these actions will lead and they want their kids to be able to grow up breathing clean air."

"Americans are clearly persuaded that their health needs should take priority over the profits of polluters" said Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling. "Political affiliation doesn't appear to count for much when constituents are asked whether their representatives in Congress should be siding with the public's health or the political clout of polluters."

The national and 19 Congressional District findings are consistent with national polling released over the last few weeks by the American Lung Association http://www.lungusa.org/about-us/our-impact/top-stories/clean-air-survey.html and the Natural Resources Defense Council  http://www.nrdc.org/media/2011/110210.asp and http://www.nrdc.org/media/2011/110202.asp.

The poll was timed to ask several questions about positions lawmakers took during last week's debate over the federal budget. During that debate, House members cast a number of votes that would severely limit the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to protect public health from water and air pollution. The Continuing Resolution (CR) itself cut 30 percent of the EPA's budget. The CR also contained policy provisions to block EPA from setting limits for carbon dioxide pollution. In addition, several amendments were passed that also would block the EPA from doing its job of protecting public health, including Representative Ted Poe's (R-TX) amendment to bar the EPA from taking any actions to reduce carbon dioxide pollution for any reason, Representative John Carter's (R-TX) amendment to prevent the EPA from reducing toxic pollution such as arsenic and mercury from cement kilns and Representative Mike Pompeo's amendment to prevent EPA from collecting data about carbon and other pollution.

Keeping with tradition, Speaker of the House John Boehner did not actually vote on the bill or the amendments, but supported the bill's passage as amended. Every other member whose district was polled voted for the EPA-blocking amendments, and every member except for Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA) voted for the final package.

For more information on how individual members voted and how the votes put public health at risk, see http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/paltman/19%20Member%20Votes%20on%20CR.pdf  and http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/paltman/strong_opposition_nationally_a.html.

FINDINGS FROM NATIONAL SURVEY

The national survey of American registered voters also showed the following:

• 69 percent of Americans – including 59 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of Independents – think EPA scientists, not Congress, should decide what pollution limits are needed.
• 64 percent of Americans – including 57 percent of Republicans and 63 percent of Independents – think "Congress should let the EPA do its job" versus "Congress should decide when and how greenhouse gases should be regulated," which was favored by only about a third of Americans (36 percent).
• One of the poll questions revealed particularly strong support for clean air updates the EPA is putting forward today: 66 percent of Americans -- including 54 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of Independents -- favor the EPA requiring stricter limits on the amount of toxic chemicals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic that coal power plants and other industrial facilities release.
• 78 percent of Americans – including 69 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of Independents – support the EPA's mission of "protect(ing) the air we breathe and the water we drink with safeguards that hold corporate polluters accountable for the pollution they release into our environment."
• 66 percent support "requiring stricter limits on the amount of toxic chemicals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic that coal power plants and other industrial facilities release."
• 65 percent support "limiting the amount of carbon pollution that big power plants and other industrial facilities release."
• 64 percent favor "requiring stricter limits on the amount of smog that vehicles and industrial facilities release."

The national survey by PPP for NRDC was conducted February 18-20, 2011, with a sample size of 784 registered voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.  Full reports on the national and district-level polling results, including sample sizes, polling dates and the margin of errors associated with each of the surveys can be found at http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/paltman/2-23%20Poll%20Table.pdf and http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/paltman/2-23%20PPP%20Poll%20National%20and%20District%20Results.zip.

For all 20 of the national and Congressional District surveys, PPP conducted automated telephone surveys of registered voters using voter lists provided by Aristotle Inc. At least three attempts were made to reach every potential respondent.

EDITOR'S NOTE:  A streaming audio replay of the news event will be available on the Web at http://www.nrdc.org as of 5 p.m. EST on February 23, 2011.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org.

Public Policy Polling is a national survey research firm located in Raleigh, North Carolina.  It was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the two most accurate polling companies in the country for its swing state polling in 2008. More recently it was recognized by the Washington Post and Politico for its pinpoint polling of the surprising results in the Delaware Republican Senate primary and the Massachusetts Senate special election.

SOURCE Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC