And it's not unusual for me to receive a letter similar to the one I received in November from a constituent who lives in Fairfield, Connecticut. She told me that her sister has pulmonary disease and every bit of polluted air is harmful to her health. My constituent has no power on her own to protect her sister from pollution. But she has the power, under the Constitution, to petition us and request that we do what we can to clean up the air and protect public health. That is a proper role of government.
Government exists to protect our security.
That means defending against threats from abroad. It means protecting us from criminals here at home. And it also means acting to protect the public from pollution that threatens their health, because fighting pollution is a task no individual can accomplish without the help of strong laws and adequate enforcement of those laws. We may never have air that is completely free of contamination. And we will never have enough money to do everything we should to clean up the air.