President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Clean Air Act, December 17, 1963
Item 10829 info
Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library
Muskie and the committee wanted the Public Health Service, which had a charge to deal with pollution, to collect scientific evidence of the effects of pollution on health and welfare.
Leon G. Billings, the former staff of the Air and Water Pollution subcommittee, wrote, "Better science argues for more, rather than less, aggressive pollution controls."
Muskie was known for thoroughly studying issues and basing his arguments for legislation on the facts he gathered.
Muskie shepherded the 1963 Clean Air Act through Congress and stood close to president Lyndon Johnson as he signed the landmark law.
Muskie later said his greatest achievement was the 1970 Clean Air Act, an act that led the way to the 1972 clean water bill.
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