Bustos: Supreme Court ruling limits EPA, will harm farming communities ‘for generations’

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos said Midwest farming communities will be harmed “for generations” as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on June 30 that will curb the government’s ability to regulate carbon emissions.

“Today, the Supreme Court ruled to harm Midwest communities,” said Bustos in a news release. “This decision is bad for the environment, bad for farming and bad for our communities’ health.”

The new ruling would affect agriculture’s capacity to grow food and hinder land stewardship, Bustos said.

“By severely limiting the ability to address our changing climate, the Supreme Court will ultimately make farming more difficult,” she said.

“In recent years, we’ve seen how climate chaos destroys crops, damages land and makes recovery after a disaster that much more difficult. This will set our agricultural communities back for generations.”

Scientists, not the Supreme Court, should be the arbiters on issues affected by climate, Bustos said.

“It’s about time we let the real climate experts make decisions about the climate — and I will work to explore alternatives to restoring this important EPA role,” she said.

Democrat Bustos is not seeking reelection in the 17th congressional district in northwestern Illinois, a largely rural swath that Republicans are hoping to flip in November.