Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Thomas Carper (D-DE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) held a press conference today with top health leaders to discuss the House Republican's budget proposal and its devastating impacts on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the health of children and families nationwide. Following the press conference, Senator Boxer issued the following statement:

Senator Boxer said: "Yesterday, a majority of the U.S. Senate voted against the GOP budget proposal that would undermine landmark environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, that protect all Americans, but the fight is not over. These safeguards, which protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, are under direct attack. H.R. 1 slashed EPA's budget by one-third - the largest cut for any federal agency. That size cut is a back door way to hobble the EPA - an agency that is has protected children and families for over 40 years."

The Senators were joined by representatives from several of the nation's leading public health organizations, including the American Lung Association, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Thoracic Society, the American Nurses Association, the National Medical Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Trust for America's Health.

Click below to watch video of today's event:

Excerpts from today's press conference

Full video of today's press conference

Attached below is a link to the public health organizations' statements.

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