“The EPA is taking an enormous economic gamble with the American people’s future.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) has put a hold on the nomination of Regina McCarthy as Assistant Administrator of the EPA Office of Air and Radiation.
“The nominee has failed to address serious concerns regarding the implementation of the Clean Air Act with regards EPA’s recent endangerment finding.”
The endangerment finding lists CO2 as a threat to public health. The finding will trigger a flood of new regulations and judicial challenges.
“The new regulations will affect everything from schools, hospitals and nursing homes to ranches, refineries and small businesses. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that more than 1.2 million entities will be negatively impacted by this ill-conceived scheme,” Barrasso said.
“The authors of the Clean Air Act never intended that it be manipulated this way.”
The Clean Air Act does not leave any room for EPA to exercise discretion or create exceptions.
Senator James Inhofe (R-Ok.), the Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee pledged support of the Barrasso hold.
“The EPA is taking an enormous economic gamble with the American people’s future. Mrs. McCarthy should have an understanding of the consequences of exploiting the Clean Air Act and a plan to avoid this pending economic disaster.”
“Based on their professional expertise and years of experience with the Clean Air Act, a qualified EPA nominee should be able to provide a suggested roadmap. They must be able to explain how they will protect business, farms, hospitals and schools from the long arm of Washington and litigious special interest groups,” Barrasso said.
“The economic consequences of hijacking the Clean Air Act will be devastating. By the EPA’s own estimate, the typical pre-construction permit in 2007 cost each applicant $125,000 and 866 burden hours to obtain. The process will completely overwhelm the EPA.”
“The Heritage Foundation predicts that Clean Air Act regulations would lead to job losses that would exceed 800,000. The GDP loss to the country would be $7 trillion by 2029. We simply cannot afford the cost in this reeling economy,” Barrasso said.
Background
The Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air & Radiation (OAR) oversees the development of national programs, policies, and regulations controlling air pollution and radiation exposure. OAR is concerned with pollution prevention and energy efficiency, indoor and outdoor air quality, industrial air pollution, pollution from vehicles and engines, radon, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change, and radiation protection.