By: Maria Finnegan, National Field Organizer
Date: June 3, 2026
About: Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-3297
To: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
My name is Maria Finnegan, and I am a National Field Manager for Moms Clean Air Force. I am here today in my professional capacity but also as the mother of an active five-year-old boy who loves playing outside.
I urge EPA to protect the Clean Cars Standards and to implement them without delay.
I am speaking to you from my home in Dublin, New Hampshire, a small rural town known for its lakes, forests, and the beauty of Mount Monadnock. On paper, it looks like the perfect place to raise a child. And in many ways, it is. But one thing I have learned from living out here is that air pollution does not stop at city limits.
In New Hampshire, we have a saying: “You can’t get there from here.” Like many rural communities, we rely on a handful of major roads to connect us to schools, jobs, medical care, and groceries. In southern New Hampshire, Route 101 serves as that lifeline.
As Route 101 reaches our quieter communities, it narrows and runs directly through town centers. In Dublin, traffic passes just a couple feet from homes, churches, and places where children gather. The road runs directly in front of our elementary school and a daycare center, where children play outside while cars and trucks move past, releasing exhaust into the air they breathe.
During the summer, tourism and rising temperatures bring even more traffic. With more vehicles comes more pollution, and heat can trap ozone close to the ground, increasing concerns about air quality.
Many people think of air pollution as a city problem. But families in rural communities live with it too. Tailpipe pollution releases nitrogen oxides, which form ground-level ozone—commonly known as smog—as well as dangerous particle pollution. Both are especially harmful to children whose lungs are still developing and who spend so much time outdoors.
I have seen this reality in my community. A classmate of my son’s who lives with asthma has struggled to breathe while playing outside at school—something his family worries is worsened by nearby traffic pollution. On difficult days, he stays inside during recess while other children play outdoors.
The health impacts of tailpipe pollution are serious. Exposure can trigger asthma attacks, worsen respiratory and heart disease, increase infections, and contribute to emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Research has also linked air pollution to cognitive harm and increased risks of illnesses including lung cancer.
These are not distant statistics. They are part of everyday life for families in communities like mine.
The 2024 Clean Cars Standards are about more than vehicles. They are about protecting children’s health and safeguarding the air they breathe now and in the future. Weakening or delaying these protections would mean dirtier air and greater health risks for families across the country.
EPA has a responsibility to protect public health, and that must include protecting our children. Rural communities like Dublin are worthy of clean air too, and our children deserve the freedom to run and play outside without parents wondering what is filling their lungs.
I respectfully urge EPA to protect the Clean Cars Standards and put children’s health first.