Nearly half of Americans are now breathing dangerous levels of air polluted with soot and smog, according to a new American Lung Association report. 

The report shows air pollution is getting worse across the U.S., putting tens of millions of people at risk of asthma, heart disease, stroke, and even early death. Increasing wildfires and heat waves elevate soot and smog pollutants in the air.

Yet at the very moment we need stronger protections, the Environmental Protection Agency—the very agency tasked with defending our air—is being gutted.

Budget cuts and staffing layoffs have left the EPA struggling to do its job. Critical enforcement actions are being delayed or dropped. Monitoring sites in vulnerable communities have been shut down. The result? Pollution escalates while our children, seniors, and communities of color pay the price.

We’re calling on Congress and the Trump administration to fully restore EPA funding and enforcement capacity—immediately. That means:

• Reinstating recently slashed funding
• Rehiring expert staff to monitor and regulate air quality
• Ensuring the EPA has the tools to manage pollution and hold polluters accountable

Air isn’t optional. Clean air is a right, not a privilege. It’s time to stop treating environmental protection like a political bargaining chip. Lives are at stake.

Sign this petition to demand full funding and staffing for the EPA.