ADAO’s letter to Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Feinstein in opposition of Judge Brett Kavanaugh

Posted on September 3, 2018

With the Senate Judiciary Committee set to begin its hearing on Brett Kavanaugh, our country moves one step closer to having an anti-environment Supreme Court Justice.

In 2014, Kavanaugh argued against setting standards for mercury – despite it being linked to heart attacks, premature deaths and childhood asthma. Instead, he said we should consider the costs to polluters. Similarly, Kavanaugh overturned a rule to limit air pollution amounts that cross state lines, argued in favor of dumping coal mining waste into streams, and ruled that it’s okay for factory farms to pollute the air of their neighbors.

If he is confirmed, we will never have clean air, water or soil. Each year nearly 40,000 Americans die from asbestos-related illnesses — and as long as the deadly carcinogen is legal, that number will only increase.

We agree with Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s statement that Kavanaugh “has demonstrated that he will put the interests of polluters ahead of the right of the public to breathe clean

[air] and drink clean water.”

President Trump would likely dispute that because he has been a fervent supporter of asbestos since he said the World Trade Center would not have burned down if “we didn’t remove the incredibly powerful fire retardant asbestos.”

In addition, the Trump Administration has withheld more than 100,000 pages of documents relating to Kavanaugh’s tenure in the White House as Staff Secretary and White House Counsel. If the Senate were to confirm Kavanaugh without these documents, we would be allowing someone on the Supreme Court without conducting a transparent comprehensive vetting process. This is not only undemocratic, but raises a red flag to the suitability of Judge Kavanaugh to impartially serve on the Supreme Court.

We have written to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging it to delay a vote until there is a thorough, public examination of his judicial records, especially for a lifetime position with power to drastically reverse much of our country’s progress.

And while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to balk on banning asbestos, we not only know Kavanaugh is anti-environment, but that he has also repeatedly favored industry, voted against safeguards to protect workers and ruled in support of dumping hazardous waste.

ADAO and EWG Action Fund ran online ads in Maine over the weekend calling attention to the fact that Maine has the highest annual mortality rate from asbestos-caused disease in the nation. Maine’s senior Senator Susan Collins, R, will be a key vote on whether Judge Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed as next Supreme Court justice, and could cast the deciding vote on whether to allow asbestos to remain legal.

We urge you to contact your Senators by following the instructions below.

  1. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 225-3121, and ask to speak with your U.S. Senator or Representative (you’ll be making three separate calls to reach each of your Senator’s offices, and your Representative’s office).
  2. When your office answers, please urge them to delay a vote on the Senate floor for Brett Kavanaugh.
  3. Once you’ve made your calls, post a message on my Facebook wall to let the community know you have called and what their office said.

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In unity,

Linda Reinstein
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