Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the need for the Senate to take up and pass the bipartisan-supported EPA Regulatory Relief Act:
“Today, I would like to begin, once again, by focusing on a piece of jobs legislation that Republicans in the House have recently passed with significant bipartisan support; and by calling on the Democrat majority in the Senate to follow the lead of House Republicans by taking this legislation up, and passing it over here.
“The legislation I’d like to highlight is H.R. 2250, The EPA Regulatory Relief Act. This legislation passed the House overwhelming last month. Forty-one Democrats supported it over there. Senator Collins has introduced a similar bill here in the Senate. It’s also got strong bipartisan support.
“Most Americans are probably aware by now that the Obama Administration is crushing businesses across the country with a mountain of red tape and new regulations that it imposes outside the legislative process. When asked about the challenges they face, small business owners now rank these regulations at the top.
“Well, one of the chief offenders is the EPA. And one of the most potentially damaging regulations this red-tape factory has proposed yet relates to the boilers that are used by just about every manufacturer or institution in this country that doesn’t get the power it needs from the standard utilities. Right now, the EPA wants to force anybody with an industrial sized boiler to change their facilities to comply with a burdensome new regulation that, according to one study, could put 230,000 U.S. jobs at risk.
“So here’s what Senator Collins’ bill, The EPA Regulatory Relief Act, would do about all this.
“Here’s what it will do to protect jobs here in America.
“First, it provides more time for the EPA to issue new regulations for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers, process heaters, and incinerators. This is time that the EPA itself has indicated that it needs in order to collect more data and analysis, and to finalize the rules. So it gives the EPA what it says it needs.
“More specifically, it would provide the EPA 15 months from the date of the bill’s enactment to re-propose and finalize the new boiler rules — which, I want to emphasize, the EPA has already requested.
“This bill would also extend the compliance deadlines from three to five years, which would allow companies adequate time to comply with the new standards and install the required equipment.
“Crucially, this bill would also direct the EPA to ensure that the new rules are achievable and realistic.
“We all recognize the vital role the EPA plays in keeping the air we breathe and water we drink clean and safe. But we also need to set some common sense limits on its actions. And that means putting in place laws that protect Americans against the kind of regulatory overreach that too many unelected bureaucrats in Washington seem to live for these days, especially in these challenging economic times.
“As I said, this bill has a lot of support not only from Republicans, but from Democrats in the Senate. In fact, twelve of the bill’s cosponsors are Democrats. Like me, they understand and appreciate how these new rules would adversely affect jobs and manufacturing in this country. And they want to work with us to do something about it. So this is a perfect example of an issue on which the two parties agree.
“Sen. Ron Wyden supports this bill because it ‘directs the EPA to go back to the drawing board and craft boiler rules that are more in line with what is realistic for mills and factories.’ He argues that the ‘EPA itself has admitted that its boiler rules need to be fixed.’ And here’s how Senator Landrieu put it over the summer: ‘With manufacturing being one of the bright spots in our economic recovery, we cannot afford to jeopardize the industry's health and the high-paying jobs it supplies to this country. This legislation will give the EPA the time extension it needs to craft a balanced approach that not only keeps our environment clean, but also our economy strong…’
“This legislation is supported by the American Forest and Paper Association, the National Association of Manufacturing, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, the Business Roundtable, the Biomass Power Association, and around 300 other business groups.
“Too many jobs are at stake for the Senate not to act on this legislation that’s already passed the House. I’ve previously mentioned an Ohio paper mill where 200 jobs are at stake as a result of this rule. The American Forest and Paper Association says 70,000 jobs in the paper industry alone are also at risk.
“The Republican-House has done its job. Now it’s time for the Senate to act.
“Let’s take up The EPA Regulatory Relief Act, pass it, and send it on down to the President for a signature.
“If Democrat leaders can’t agree to take up and pass legislation that the two parties agree on, then what will they agree to pass? Let’s follow the House’s lead and show the American people we can work together on this common sense, bipartisan bill to protect jobs in American manufacturing.”
