Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) sponsored an amendment to H.R. 4821, the Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, which would block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from tightening the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter (soot or PM NAAQS) as proposed. This amendment would block critical EPA funding that would make our air cleaner and combat the dangerous health impacts of particulate matter, or soot pollution, which cuts short tens of thousands of lives in the U.S. every year. Soot pollution disproportionately affects low-wealth communities and communities of color, and in addition to premature death can lead to heart disease, asthma, decreased lung function and cancer. On November 2, the House approved the Gosar amendment by a vote of 212-206 (House roll call vote 582). The House passed H.R. 4821 on November 3. The Senate did not consider this legislation or any Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill in 2023.