Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI), the ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee, today released a letter signed by 42 House Democrats requesting a meeting with President Clinton to discuss their concerns with the changes to air quality standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The letter was signed by Members covering the spectrum of the House Democratic caucus, including 13 of the 23 Democrats sitting on the House Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Clean Air Act.

"As we gain a greater appreciation for the consequences of these proposed standards, more and more of my Democratic colleagues have expressed their reservations privately and publicly. These changes will very likely disrupt efforts now under way to get cleaner air, give the public the false impression that air quality is getting worse when it is in fact improving daily, and unnecessarily restrict economic growth," Dingell said.

"Unfortunately, Republican efforts to raise some of these issues through Congressional oversight have been clumsy, partisan, ineffective and even counterproductive. I am forced to ask whether the majority's goal is to reach an accommodation on the standards or to create for themselves a political issue. Nevertheless, their failures cannot absolve Democrats of the obligation to act responsibly and constructively," Dingell said.

In addition to the Democrats who signed the letter, others have indicated since the date of that letter that they wanted to add their names. Several Members who signed the letter said they thought EPA's action deserved harsher criticism. Similarly, some Democratic Members opposed to the proposed standards declined to sign because the letter did not express their disagreement strongly enough.

The text of the letter and the list of signatories, is attached or available at the Commerce Committee Democrats' Web site (http://www.house.gov/energycommerce/).