Congressional Republicans Take Stab At EPA Before Heading To Recess

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Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives kicked off the month of August with one of their favorite activities โ€“ attacking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.)

Last Thursday, in one of their final acts before they take the entire month of August off, the Republican-controlled House passed a piece of legislation that would greatly reduce the EPAโ€™s ability to regulate corporate pollution.ย  The vote, according to The Hill, was largely along party lines, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democratsย opposing.

The legislation, cleverly titled Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny or REINS, would give Congress the ability to approve or deny any regulations put in place by the EPA, if they cost more than $100 million or any standards that would tax carbonย emissions.

The Hill details the conservative reasoning behind theย legislation:

The legislation, designed to create a new hurdle that regulations would have to clear before taking effect, reflects the Republican view that rule-making at federal agencies has run amok. The result, they charge, is a torrent of new regulations that have saddled businesses with unnecessary red tape and complianceย costs.

โ€œThroughout the presidentโ€™s administration, a flood of major new regulations have been burying Americansโ€™ job creators and households at record levels,โ€ Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said moments before theย voteโ€ฆ

The REINS Act, introduced by Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.), is the latest incarnation of legislation that has been introduced in each of the last three Congresses. It faces a difficult road forward in the Senate, where Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has introduced a companionย bill.

Goodlatteโ€™s misguided view that regulations destroy jobs or somehow hinder innovation (both of which are at odds with the truth), is a direct talking point from the dirty energy industry, which coincidentally has given Goodlatte more than $300,000 over the course of hisย career.

Republican Todd Young, the original sponsor of the House bill, has pulled in more than $163,000 from coal, oil, and gas companies during his short two year career.ย  Rand Paul, sponsor of the Senateโ€™s companion legislation, has pulled in $249,000 from coal, oil, and gas companies, which includes $17,000 from Koch Industries, Randโ€™s 5th largest single campaignย contributor.

The continued attacks on the EPA show that politicians are putting the interests of their corporate donors over the health and safety of their constituents.ย  Not only do these regulations create jobs for the U.S. economy, but any cost that they create is offset by future healthcare costs saved.ย 

The Republicans in Congress clearly have a problem with looking down the road when it comes to spending, as hefty expenses from fossil fuel pollution and climate change are expected to start costing the United States an estimated $4 billion a year within the next twoย decades.

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Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine, and his articles have appeared on The Huffington Post, Alternet, and The Progressive Magazine. He has worked for the Ring of Fire radio program with hosts Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Mike Papantonio, and Sam Seder since August 2004, and is currently the co-host and producer of the program. He also currently serves as the co-host of Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV, a daily program airing nightly at 8:30pm eastern. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009.ย  Follow him on Twitterย @farronbalanced.

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