JOHN HOLLIMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As President Bush signed the clean air bill into law, he began a process which will cost Americans $25 billion a year.</s>GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No American should have to drive out of town to breathe clean air. And every city in America should have clean air. And with this legislation, I firmly believe we will.</s>HOLLIMAN: But it will take a decade for air quality to improve noticeably. And critics complain the measure will cost jobs and damage the already fragile economy. Coal-burning power plants in the Midwest and Southeast will have to spend millions to clean up equipment. And their customers will have to pay the cost. Winners will be people in the Northeast and Canada, who will see less lake-killing acid rain caused by those plants. The big winners from this: residents in the most smog-filled cities. (on camera): All Americans will benefit from cuts in toxic air pollution and ozone-damaging chemicals. One supporter says the average American family will pay an extra $8 a month for clean air, something he calls a bargain when matched against the cost of more air pollution. John Holliman, CNN, at the White House.
CNN 20: President Bush Signs Clean Air Act, November 15, 1990