By: Jayne Black, Wisconsin Field Organizer
Date: June 3, 2026
About: Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-3297
To: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Jayne Black, and I am a De Pere, Wisconsin, native. I am also a state Field Organizer with Moms Clean Air Force, where we are working to protect children from the health impacts of air pollution.
On behalf of Moms Clean Air Force and our more than 17,000 members across Wisconsin, I am here to ask the EPA not to delay implementation of vital clean car standards. These protections are not just words on a piece of paper—they are lifelines for families like mine.
I am the mother of four children, two of whom live with serious health conditions that are significantly impacted by vehicle pollution. My daughter has multiple sclerosis. When NOx emissions rise, she suffers flare-ups and relapses that rob her of stability and strength. My son has asthma. Tailpipe pollution triggers his attacks, leaving him gasping for air. His medications keep him alive, but they also weigh heavily on his mental health, contributing to depression and anxiety. Watching your child struggle to breathe, or watching your daughter’s body betray her because of air pollution—something we can control—is pain no parent should have to endure.
And yet, this is the reality for thousands of families in Wisconsin. children here live with asthma. For them, tailpipe pollution means emergency room visits, missed school days, mounting medical bills, and constant worry for their parents. It means childhoods interrupted and futures threatened.
The data tells the same story our families live every day. Mobile sources are the largest driver of ground-level ozone in Wisconsin. They account for 24% of volatile organic compound emissions and 55% of nitrogen oxide emissions—more than power plants and industry combined. Milwaukee County, home to our largest school district, received failing grades for ozone and 24-hour PM 2.5 in the American Lung Association’s 2026 State of the Air report. Children are legally required to attend schools surrounded by highways, where their health is compromised by tailpipe pollution. They don’t have a choice whether or not they breathe in dangerous exhaust fumes when they play outside at recess. It’s just not fair.
I am urging EPA to maintain the strongest possible pollution protections for light- and medium-duty vehicles, and to implement these standards without delay. Protect our children, protect our families, and protect our future. Thank you.