The House voted Tuesday to pass a Republican-backed bill delaying implementation of Obama-era reductions in smog-causing air pollutants. Lawmakers voted 229 to 199 to approve the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017. The measure delays by eight more years the implementation of 2015 air pollution standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency under the prior administration. But he said the stricter standards approved by Obama's EPA would force American companies to invest billions in new pollution reduction measures. EPA projected that the "vast majority" of U.S. counties would meet the stricter standards by 2025 under state and federal rules and programs then underway.

Source: ABC News July 18, 2017 21:55 UTC