As Republicans peddle propaganda about their purported desire to “Make America Healthy Again,” they’re pursuing a literally toxic agenda, one that’s rolling back anti-pollution measures and putting Americans at risk.
For me, this came to mind last week, when the Trump administration announced that it was rolling back guidelines meant to prevent the spread of “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to cancer and heart disease.
This week, Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency chief, Lee Zeldin, launched what I’d describe as a vocal defense of some forever chemicals, claiming that research is inconclusive and framing the Biden administration’s regulations as too onerous for corporations.
In an interview with Fox News, Zeldin said entities that provide water to the masses deserve “more flexibility to be able to come into compliance,” which sounds like bureaucratic jargon that effectively means companies should have more leeway and not be forced to meet strict standards.
As the saying goes, “the devil doesn’t need an advocate.”
And I don’t think cancer-causing chemicals do either. And keep in mind: This move is coming from the same administration whose health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has spread conspiracy theories about fluoridated water.
In addition, House Republicans approved a measure early Thursday that would roll back the Biden administration’s guidelines meant to prevent air pollution. The GOP-led Senate approved a similar measure last month, and the House version is headed to Trump’s desk to be signed into law. The House early Thursday morning voted to eliminate a Biden-era rule that sought to crack down on toxic air pollution, sending the resolution to President Trump’s desk. The vote was 216-212, and Trump is expected to sign the measure. The vote took place overnight as the House debated the GOP’s megabill of Trump’s priorities. The Biden-era policy required polluters that had once been considered “major” emitters of seven types of pollution to continue to follow strict pollution control and reporting requirements. Senate Republicans also bypassed the filibuster this week in order to kill California’s air pollution standards that regulate vehicles’ emissions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom hit the nail on the head while vowing to fight the move, saying the GOP’s legislation stands to “make America smoggy again.” The past week has highlighted the ruse undergirding the GOP’s Make America Healthy Again rhetoric. As Trump, Kennedy and others in the MAGA movement portray themselves as faithful stewards of Americans’ health, this administration and its allies in Congress appear to be doing everything in their power to make it easier for dangerous toxins to reach the masses.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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