Under the Clean Air Act, locales which did not meet ambient air quality standards by December 31, 1987 were to be subject to economic sanctions (they would lose federal funding). Many cities, including Denver, Los Angeles, and New York, were not going to meet the standards for ozone and carbon monoxide by the deadline. Environmentalists supported a Conte (R-MA) amendment to the fiscal 1988 Continuing Appropriations bill which would postpone sanctions for nine months, until August 31, 1988. 

The vote is on a Murtha (D-PA) substitute to the Conte amendment to postpone economic sanctions for an additional nine months until May of 1989. The longer delay, the more people will suffer from increased heart problems, lung cancer, and other respiratory ailments. The American Lung Association estimates that air pollution is now costing us $40 billion a year in health care and lost productivity. Murtha's amendment would probably have delayed any further action on the Clean Air Act until after the elections when legislators would no longer be as vulnerable to citizen demands for cleaner air. The amendment was rejected, 162-257, on December 3, 1987. NO is the pro-environmental vote.