By: Ali Simpson, Senior Manager, Field Campaigns
Date: June 4, 2026
About: Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-3297
To: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to give testimony today. My name is Ali Simpson. I am a Senior Manager for Moms Clean Air Force, an organization of over 1.6 million parents and caregivers advocating for clean air and a healthy climate on behalf of children nationwide. I live in Bedford, New York, in Westchester County. I’m here today to urge you not to delay critical safeguards on tailpipe pollution from light-duty vehicles.
I'm the mom of two young boys, ages two and five. Nothing is more important to me than my children, and protecting them is my first and foremost responsibility. I do this work to protect them and advocate for the millions of children across the country, especially those who live in environmental justice communities that are hit worst and first by air pollution. The fact is that tailpipe exhaust from cars is a significant source of air pollution that harms children’s health.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I was kept inside countless times during recess and lunch because of bad air days due to ground-level ozone. Decades later, Los Angeles still tops the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report as one of the most polluted cities in the U.S. for ozone and particle pollution. My entire family—including my precious baby niece—still lives there.
We have the power to change this. Implementing the 2024 Clean Cars protections without delay can help turn around the terrible fact that 44% of Americans—over 152 million people—live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the 2026 State of the Air Report. Nearly half of children in the U.S. live with unhealthy levels of air pollution. These protections help us get to this future, a future where we no longer need to worry about harmful tailpipe pollution and its devastating health impacts, including:
- Asthma attacks
- Respiratory and cardiovascular harm
- Increased hospital admissions and emergency department visits
- Premature death
- Increased risk of infections
- Cognitive problems
- Adverse birth outcomes
- Lung cancer
Myself and other parents around the country want clean air for their kids. Delaying implementation of EPA’s Clean Cars Standards will disproportionately harm children. EPA must implement the Clean Cars Standards without delay—they are vital to protecting our families from air pollution.
Thank you.