Senator Boxer said: "Once again the EPA has rejected the recommendations of its scientific advisors and failed to protect our communities from dangerous air pollution. Smog kills, and scientific studies say that thousands of lives could have been saved if the standard had been set in the more protective range, between 60 and 70 parts per billion unanimously recommended by EPA's scientific experts. Today, EPA missed the mark, establishing a standard at 75 parts per billion. I support the standard of 60 parts per billion, the level endorsed by public health advocates like the American Lung Association."

"It is outrageous that the Bush Administration would call for changes that would gut the Clean Air Act, which has saved countless lives and protected the health of millions of Americans for more than 35 years. The Bush Administration would have us replace clean air standards driven by science with standards based on the interests of polluters."

"EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment, but the Administrator seems to be more interested in protecting special interests than children and families. Administrator Johnson is out of sync with the mission of his organization. He may want to consider finding a job where his approach to environmental issues is a better fit."

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