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STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT: Adopting Strong New Measures to Dramatically Reduce Diesel Emissions

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                                THE WHITE HOUSE

                         Office of the Press Secretary

________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release
December 21, 2000


                        STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

     A year ago today, I announced the toughest air pollution standards for
new cars and sport utility vehicles.  Today, we take another bold step to
clean our air. We are adopting strong new measures to dramatically reduce
unhealthy and unsightly emissions from trucks and buses powered by diesel
fuel.  Together, these actions represent the most sweeping effort ever to
protect our air and our health from the pollution caused by the vehicles we
drive.  They ensure that by the end of the decade, every new car, truck and
SUV in America will be up to 95 percent cleaner than those on the road
today.

     Today?s action by the Environmental Protection Agency mandates cleaner
diesel fuel and extends the latest pollution control technology to all
trucks and buses for the first time.  These advances will prevent not only
the thick plumes of diesel exhaust all too familiar to motorists, but also
thousands of cases of respiratory illness and premature deaths.  We will
spare thousands of children and elderly the agony of asthma and bronchitis,
and help to fulfill the promise of clean, healthy air for every American.

     For the past eight years, Vice President Gore and I have been guided
by the conviction that a strong economy and a healthy environment go hand
in hand.  Indeed, our nation entered the 21st century enjoying both
unprecedented prosperity and the cleanest air and water in a generation.
Our actions a year ago and today will help ensure an even safer and more
prosperous future for generations yet to come.

                                 30-30-30


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