I’d like to correct the record from the second presidential debate. On the subject of air-pollution laws, Gov. George Bush said he fought for and signed in Texas an electric-decontrol that has mandatory emission standards. The governor submitted a bill, drafted by the major Texas power companies, which allowed pollution controls to be voluntary for the older coal-fired power plants at issue. The legislature then insisted on making the pollution controls mandatory, and Bush signed that law. Bush’s statement in the debate was grossly inaccurate. Vice President Al Gore has consistently supported mandatory pollution controls.
The Chicago area has one of the highest rates of asthma in the country, a problem directly related to poor air quality. This is of great concern because Gov. Bush did not even attempt to argue the point that Houston, on his watch, became the city with the dirtiest air in the nation. Chicago doesn’t need Houston air.
