Washington, D.C. – Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a scientific finding concluding that carbon emissions from commercial airplanes contribute to pollution, a first step in the EPA’s effort to regulate airline emissions.
Chairman Smith: “The sky is the limit when it comes to how much of the U.S. economy the EPA wants to control. The EPA today released a finding that emissions from commercial airplanes are harmful to human health, which opens the door for new regulations. Such regulations would increase the price of airfare for Americans and harm our domestic carriers. Over the last fifty years, the fuel efficiency of jetliners has increased by 70 percent. Incentives are already in place to make air travel more energy efficient. This proposal is the next leg of a nonstop journey by the EPA to control how Americans live, work and travel.”