Photo: Brian Larson

Sierra Club AND LCV Endorse Obama

Release Date:  Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Details:

(CHICAGO) – Senator Barack Obama, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, today received the endorsement of two of the nation’s largest and most influential environmental advocacy groups, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and the Sierra Club. Highly coveted by every campaign in the multi-candidate Democratic field, the endorsements underscore Obama’s strong record on clean air and water issues, and provide a huge boost to his campaign as it marches to Primary Day next month.

“Obama is one of only six members of the Illinois State Senate to receive a 100% Environmental Voting Record Award for 2003 from the Illinois Environmental Council,” said Betsy Loyless, LCV Vice President for Policy. “He has built a career fighting for clean air, safe drinking water and the right of citizens to know about the threats to their environment. In the state senate, Barack fought to raise standards on diesel emissions, co-sponsored legislation to promote renewable energy, worked to clean up the Lake Shore on the South Side of Chicago, and strongly supported Brownfields cleanup with the Illinois First environmental program,” she said.

Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope added, “There was a crowded field of candidates who were vying for our endorsement, but we feel strongly that Barack Obama is the strongest choice to put this seat in the hands of a pro-environment Senator, and to passionately defend the health and safety of every community, rich or poor, urban, suburban, or rural. He will be a force for change and a voice for those most vulnerable to the right wing’s assault on the environment – especially those who live near power plants that pollute our air and poison our children,” Pope concluded.

“I’m so proud to receive the endorsement of two of the largest, most dedicated, and most effective environmental advocates in the country,” said Obama. “I’ve spent seven years in Springfield standing up to special interests that boast big war chests and huge influence in government. I’ve fought to keep Illinois’ air and water clean, from our big cities to our small towns and rural areas.”

“And I will bring that record and that commitment to the fight in Washington, where George Bush and Dick Cheney are running roughshod over our environmental laws – and putting our families at risk,” continued Obama. “They’ve threatened our air quality with an assault the Clean Air Act. They’ve endangered the safety of eating fresh fish by relaxing mercury emission standards. They’ve risked our water supply by allowing mining interests to pollute streams. And just this week, President Bush sent Congress a budget that would cripple the Environmental Protection Agency by gutting its enforcement resources by 7 percent, and cutting clean water projects funding by $500 million.”

“Why? One word: money. This White House is wholly owned by the large corporate interests that flood the Bush campaign with donations – big oil and energy and chemical companies that put their bottom line before the health of communities across Illinois and the nation,” said Obama.

“George Bush is the most anti-environmental president in modern American history. He makes Ronald Reagan look like Robert Redford. And he must be stopped,” said Obama, a top contender in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. “I know Dick Cheney is scheduled to be in Illinois this weekend, so I want to take this opportunity to ask him a question. Which is more important: campaign cash for November 2004, or clean air for scores of Novembers to come?”

As the father of a five-year old daughter with asthma, Obama has a personal commitment to cleaning up smog and other pollutants in the air that contribute to asthma attacks among millions of children each year. His daughter, Malia, accompanied him to the event.

“Asthma rates are rising across the country, and nowhere is the epidemic more apparent than right here in Chicago. The prevalence of asthma in Chicago is 25 percent higher than in the nation as a whole, with asthma rates for children in this city TWICE the national average,” said Obama. “The impact of this plague is felt most severely in communities of color.”

Obama said that the U.S. Senate needs to take several steps to address the asthma epidemic, including: cleaning up dirty power plants; developing cleaner sources of power; reducing vehicle emissions, and supporting strong enforcement of the Clean Air Act.

© Copyright 2004, ObamaForIllinois.com

For more information about the Senator's positions on environmental issues, please visit http://www.obamaforillinois.com/artman/publish/article_119.shtml

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