Harris v. Trump On Pollution

September 4, 2024

The Contrast: Pollution

As California Attorney General, Harris secured an $86 million settlement with Volkswagen for air pollution violations. In the U.S. Senate, Harris championed policies to safeguard clean air and clean water and to protect communities most impacted by pollution. As part of the Biden-Harris administration, Harris restored pollution protections and strengthened measures against toxic pollution. While in office, Trump weakened over 125 rules that protected air, water, and our environment and rewarded polluters by blocking water safety rules and allowing companies to skirt disclosing the presence of PFAS in discharges.

Harris Is A Champion For Clean Air

As Vice President, Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the clean energy plan, which included $3 billion in grants dedicated to improving air quality, including over $117 million in air pollution monitoring and $25 million in Clean Air Act grants.
Harris advocated for increased resources for low-income communities and communities of color who are disproportionately affected by pollution and the resulting negative health outcomes.
As a U.S. Senator, Harris sponsored the Air and Health Quality Empowerment Zone Designation Act to address air quality standards in regions that exceed national pollutant standards and provide grants to upgrade polluting vehicles.
In the Senate, Harris cosponsored the Smoke Planning and Research Act, which required the EPA to research and mitigate the impacts of smoke pollution from wildfires and established a grant program to support community wildfire mitigation efforts.
As Attorney General, Harris defended the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan and filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court supporting the EPA’s authority to limit pollution from power plants.
In 2016, Attorney General Harris secured an $86 million settlement with Volkswagen over the use of “defeat devices” to evade pollution testing. Harris directed $10 million of the settlement to support local agencies’ efforts to combat vehicle pollution.
In 2011, AG Harris filed an amicus brief in support of efforts by the Port of Los Angeles to reduce air pollution and cancer risk through its Clean Trucks program.

The Biden-Harris Administration Strengthened Pollution Protections

The EPA finalized its strongest-ever climate rules for the power sector, requiring coal- and many gas-fired plants to capture 90% of their air pollution.
The EPA finalized a rule to strengthen and update the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for coal-fired power plants, which would be the most significant update since the rule was first issued in 2012.
The EPA announced the final Good Neighbor Plan, a rule to cut smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from power plants and other industrial facilities in 23 states.
The EPA announced its proposal to restore the “Once In, Always In” policy, which required major industrial facilities to continue to comply with the highest level of protective pollution standards, even after periods of inactivity.
The EPA finalized regulations that would reduce cancer-causing pollution from chemical plants. The rule is expected to cut more than 6,000 tons of toxic air pollution a year.
The EPA finalized the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks. The final rule is expected to avoid 7.2 billion tons of CO2 through 2055.

Harris Is A Champion For Clean Water

Harris played a key role in the administration’s push to replace lead service pipes across the country. VP Harris championed the Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan’s investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The investments seek to replace all lead pipes in the next decade and remediate lead paint, which can cause severe health issues.
In the Senate, Harris authored legislation on a range of water issues, including clean water, lead pipeline replacement, and drought resilience, that were eventually passed into law as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In the Senate, Harris sponsored the Water Justice Act, which aimed to ensure water supplies were “safe, affordable, and sustainable” and invested in communities and schools to remove water contaminants.
While serving in the Senate, Harris sponsored the Water Affordability Act, which amended the Clean Water Act to require the EPA to establish a grant program to improve sanitation and drinking water access to low-income and environmentally at-risk households.
As a Senator, Harris cosponsored several bills to address PFAS contamination, which has been linked to developmental issues in children, immune system issues, and an increased risk of some cancers.
- Harris cosponsored the PFAS Testing and Treatment Act of 2020, which expanded the allowed use of grants for water systems to address PFAS contamination.
- Harris cosponsored the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act of 2019, which directed the EPA to review sources of PFAS contamination, and establish limits and standards for PFAS, as well as water quality criteria.
- Harris cosponsored the PFAS Action Act of 2019, which required the EPA to designate PFAS as a hazardous substance.
Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign vowed to “immediately address” the nation’s water crisis and highlighted Americans’ struggles with water affordability and the need to upgrade our water infrastructure.
Harris called herself a “water policy geek” and often recounts her own personal experience with drought and water issues growing up in California, including in her book ‘The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.’
Harris believes that access to clean water “should be a right.”

Trump Gutted Critical Pollution Protections

The Trump administration “weakened or wiped out” more than 125 environmental rules and policies that protected the nation’s air, water and land.
In 2019, Trump’s EPA eliminated the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which aimed to reduce power plant pollution by 32% by 2030. If fully implemented, the Clean Power Plan would have reduced power sector carbon pollution and prevented 4,500 premature deaths per year, resulting in over $50 billion in health savings annually in 2030.
- The Trump administration replaced the plan with a drastically weaker rule, only lowering power plant pollution by 1.5%, which the EPA assessed would lead to thousands more deaths from air pollution.
- Now, if elected again, Trump has pledged to terminate the new clean power plant standards, which are projected to save 1,200 premature deaths in 2035. His campaign has doubled down on this promise too.
In 2019, Trump threatened to veto the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act in part over PFAS clean-up provisions.
In 2020, Trump threatened to veto a house-passed PFAS bill that sought to establish a national drinking water standard and clean up PFAS across the country.
In 2020, Trump’s administration implemented a loophole allowing companies to not disclose the presence of PFAS in discharges if it only made up a small concentration of the overall discharge. Under VP Harris in 2022, the EPA closed the loophole.
Trump blocked water safety rules and allowed corporate polluters to pump chemicals linked to cancer, health risks for children, and brain damage into our water.
In 2020, the Trump administration finalized a rule that rolled back reporting and technology use regulations for wastewater discharges that contain coal ash and toxic heavy metals from coal-burning power plants.
The Guardian: “Donald Trump and his advisers have made campaign promises to toss crucial environmental regulations and boost the planet-heating fossil fuel sector.”

The Contrast: Vehicle Pollution

Harris has supported policies to reduce toxic vehicle pollution throughout her career, sponsoring several bills in the Senate on the issue. As part of the Biden-Harris administration, Harris delivered the strongest vehicle pollution protections, which will prevent 7.2 billion tons of pollution and save up to 2,500 lives. Meanwhile, Trump loosened vehicle standards by 30% during his term and even fought with auto executives over pollution standards. If elected to a second term, Trump would double down, promising to end the administration’s clean cars protections.

Harris Has A Long Record Of Supporting Policies To Reduce Toxic Vehicle Pollution

Harris supported policies to reduce vehicle pollution by 2030 and sought to expand the California Community Air Protection Program to reduce pollution exposure and improve health outcomes in vulnerable communities.
As Attorney General, Harris secured an $86 million settlement with Volkswagen over the company’s use of “defeat devices” to evade pollution testing.
- Harris directed $10 million of the settlement toward local agencies to develop detection technology for “defeat devices,” assess on-road pollution, and mitigate environmental and health impacts of vehicle pollution.
Harris opposed the Trump administration’s rollback of clean car standards, calling it “an attack on the state,” and supported reinstating federal clean car rules to reduce pollution.
In the Senate, Harris cosponsored several bills aimed at reducing vehicle pollution:
- Harris cosponsored legislation that required the Environmental Protection Agency to establish clean car standards by 2040 and approved a clean car credit program.
- Harris cosponsored the GAS MONEY Saved Act, which prevented the Environmental Protection Agency from reducing the stringency of clean car standards.
- In the Senate, Harris sponsored a resolution expressing support for the One National Program, which established that the federal government has the power to set fuel economy standards, with the goal of reducing carbon pollution and protecting public health.

The EPA, under the Biden-Harris administration, restored California’s waiver to set its own standards, which Trump had gutted in 2019.
The Biden-Harris administration announced the strongest-ever clean car standards, which were expected to avoid 7.2 billion tons of CO2 pollution and prevent up to 2,500 premature deaths in 2055, as well as standards for heavy-duty trucks.

Trump Attacked Vehicle Standards

After lobbying by automotive companies, the Trump administration reduced fuel standards by over 30%. After fighting with auto executives over standards, Trump launched a probe into automakers, including American automaker Ford.
In 2019, the Trump administration revoked California’s (and a dozen other states’) ability to set its own standards. Trump claimed that he was doing so to produce less expensive cars and lead to more production.
In 2020, the final CAFE and fuel economy standards went into effect. The standards were far weaker than the Obama-era standards, resulting in 2 billion additional barrels of oil consumption and increased consumer fuel costs by more than $1,000 per vehicle.
If elected to a second term, Trump has vowed to end Biden’s clean cars standards, which are projected to prevent up to 2,500 premature deaths in 2055.

The Contrast: Environmental Justice

As California Attorney General, Harris fought for environmental justice, winning countless settlements to protect communities and hold polluters accountable. As the San Francisco District Attorney, Harris created an environmental justice unit, and as vice president, Harris helped implement the Justice40 Initiative to ensure that 40% of climate and clean energy investments flow to disadvantaged communities. Trump repeatedly tried to slash funding for environmental justice efforts while in office, and Trump’s Project 2025 calls for an end to all environmental justice work under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which would directly harm vulnerable communities.

Harris Advocated For Environmental Justice And Holding Polluters Accountable

Vice President Harris helped implement and advocate for the administration’s Justice 40 Initiative, supporting a $600 million grant funding environmental justice projects across the country.
In 2020, then-Senator Harris introduced the Climate Equity Act in tandem with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. The bill would have created an Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Accountability in OMB and require the consideration of the impact of any environmental legislation or regulation on low-income communities.
As a U.S. Senator, Harris sponsored the Environmental Justice For All Act, which sought to establish environmental justice policies addressing disproportionate health and environmental effects on low-income communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color.
In 2017 and 2019, Senator Harris cosponsored the Protect Children, Farmers, and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act. The legislation would have prohibited the registration, sale, and use of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos, and banned the sale of any food containing the substance.
- The bill would also prohibit the EPA from registering any pesticide containing the substance as an active ingredient and ban exporting pesticides containing chlorpyrifos to foreign countries.
As Attorney General, Harris filed a lawsuit to protect public health in Mira Loma Village (described as a “diesel death zone”) in Riverside County after county officials approved the construction of a warehouse that would have worsened air pollution.
- In 2013, AG Harris reached a settlement that required the city and developers to mitigate the effects on Mira Loma by rerouting traffic, mandating routine air quality monitoring, planting trees and bushes to buffer air pollution in highly trafficked areas, and installing air filtration systems in residents’ homes.
As Attorney General, Harris reached a settlement with cargo terminals at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles over diesel pollution from exhaust that required the terminals to complete projects to reduce their diesel pollution and better notify the public of pollution.
As San Francisco’s district attorney, Harris created an environmental justice unit to address environmental crimes that affected the city’s poorest residents and prosecuted companies for violating hazardous waste laws.
In her 2020 presidential campaign platform, Harris called for ensuring Indigenous communities could participate and be a central voice in conversations about climate change.

VP Harris Centered Environmental Justice In The Administration’s Work

Vice President Harris helped implement and advocate for the administration’s Justice 40 Initiative, which directs 40% of certain federal climate and clean energy investments to disadvantaged communities. As part of the Justice40 initiative, the administration announced a $600 million grant funding environmental justice projects across the country.
The Biden-Harris administration restored cumulative impact analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is a necessary step to understand projects’ impacts on climate change and environmental justice.
The Biden-Harris EPA announced $550 million from the clean energy plan to expedite investments through the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program. The program will fund community projects that reduce pollution in overburdened communities, thereby advancing environmental justice.
The Biden-Harris administration funded $100 million for environmental justice projects in underserved and overburdened communities across the country. This funding, which came from the clean energy plan, was the largest amount of environmental justice grant funding ever offered by the agency.

Trump Gutted Protections And Environmental Justice Efforts, And Repeatedly Attempted To Slash Environmental Justice Funding

In 2018, Trump attempted to eliminate the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice. Thanks to congressional pushback, the office remained funded, but Trump attempted to slash the budget again in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Trump weakened NEPA by removing the Cumulative Impact Analysis, which would have allowed agencies to consider projects separately and consider the health effects of projects in isolation.
Trump’s Project 2025 called for refocusing the EPA away from the climate crisis and ending its environmental justice functions.

The Contrast: Energy Efficiency

As Vice President, Harris supported energy efficiency measures to reduce pollution and save Americans money on their energy bills. In the Senate, she cosponsored legislation that would make it easier for Americans to make energy-efficient home upgrades. The Biden-Harris admin has issued new energy efficiency standards for household appliances, cutting pollution and saving Americans billions on their annual energy bills. As president, Trump rolled back energy efficiency standards for both lightbulbs, costing Americans $14 billion annually, and household appliances, costing the typical American household $500 annually. On the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly ranted about efficiency standards for household appliances and has promised to end them on day one of his second term.

Harris Lowered Costs And Lowered Pollution By Championing Energy Efficiency

As a U.S. Senator, Harris cosponsored the Community Energy Savings Program Act, which proposed low-interest financing for consumers to upgrade their homes to be more energy-efficient, reducing energy costs for consumers and reducing carbon pollution. The legislation aimed to bolster infrastructure upgrades to spur new clean energy jobs.
The clean energy plan, passed thanks to Vice President Harris’ tie-breaking vote, established home energy efficiency and appliance rebates. As of August 2024, the IRS awarded $8.4 billion in rebates to 3.4 million American families.

In September 2023, the Biden-Harris Department of Energy (DOE) finalized new energy efficiency standards for residential gas furnaces that will lower household utility costs by $1.5 billion per year while lowering carbon pollution. The standards will take effect in late 2028.
In July 2023, the Biden-Harris DOE proposed new energy efficiency standards for water heaters, which are projected to save consumers $11.4 billion annually on energy and water bills.
In May 2023, the Biden-Harris DOE announced new energy efficiency actions for dishwashers, beverage vending machines, and final standards for electric motors. The standards are expected to save Americans $652 million in utility bills each year and businesses $464 million a year on energy costs.
In April 2024, the Biden-Harris administration finalized light bulb standards, which will save American families $1.6 billion annually on their energy bills and more than $27 billion over 30 years.

Trump Attacked Energy Efficiency Efforts And Standards, Costing Americans Billions

While Trump was president, his administration rolled back efficiency standards for lightbulbs, a move that experts estimated would cost Americans $14 billion in annual energy costs.
Trump also rolled back efficiency standards for common household appliances that had been saving the typical American household $500 per year.
Trump has ranted about efficiency standards for refrigerators and dishwashers, gas stoves and sinks, showerheads, and dryers, adding that he’d “turn it back on on the first day.”

Trump has promised to terminate the Biden-Harris clean energy plan, including investments in energy efficiency.