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Reducing and Eliminating Duplicative Environmental Regulations Act

Floor Speech

By: Luz Rivas
By: Luz Rivas
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: Washington, DC

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Ms. RIVAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone for yielding to me and for his continued leadership on the Energy and Commerce Committee, especially on environmental justice.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose the Republicans' RED Tape Act because it guts the Clean Air Act and strips the EPA's ability to inform the public of potential health concerns that they will face because of Federal projects.

The Clean Air Act makes sure that the EPA considers the health and environmental impacts of communities before a project begins. It has helped communities like mine in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles breathe cleaner air.

My district has some of the highest asthma rates in the country because of generations of poor land-use decisions. These decisions have placed freeways, landfills, and warehouses next to homes, schools, and parks.

I know that my community is not alone. Over 100 million Americans live in counties with unhealthy levels of pollution. In particular, children, the elderly, low-income communities, and communities of color are disproportionately at risk for serious health conditions.

Air pollution is already associated with over 100,000 premature deaths in our country every year. Trump and Republicans will make this problem worse by ignoring the needs of environmental justice communities across the country. Trump and Republicans are prioritizing the profits of their billionaire and corporate interest friends over the health of our communities.

The RED Tape Act allows polluters to contaminate the air that we breathe without regard for the lives or livelihoods of communities that would be impacted the most.

There is a reason that all Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee voted against the RED Tape Act, and that is because it is a harmful bill for everyone, except for Donald Trump and Republicans' billionaire friends.

This bill will increase levels of air pollution and send more people to the hospital at a time when Republicans have already gutted working families' healthcare. This bill does not make life safer or more affordable for working families in my district.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the RED Tape Act and to stand up for environmental justice communities.

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