LibocalypseNow
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- Jul 30, 2009
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President Obama ordered the Environmental Protection Agency Friday to shelve proposed regulations for new air-quality standards, citing the potential impact on the weak economy...
“I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “With that in mind, and after careful consideration, I have requested” that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson “withdraw” the proposed smog standards.
In making the move, Mr. Obama is sticking with air-quality standards set in 2008 by the administration of Republican George W. Bush, which Obama administration officials have said is based on outdated science. A White House official insisted to reporters that killing the more onerous standards was not intended “to endorse the Bush administration’s judgment,” but was done because another mandatory review of the standards is set to take place in 2013, and implementing tougher rules now could create “uncertainty.”
The current Bush ozone standard of 75 parts per billion was set over the objections of EPA scientists. Ms. Jackson has made tightening the regulation a key priority, pushing for the change ahead of the regularly scheduled five-year review in 2013.
But Cass Sunstein, the president’s “czar” in charge of regulatory review, told Ms. Jackson in a letter Friday that Mr. Obama was rejecting her proposal for more restrictive standards.
The new regulations on ozone ambient air quality standards would have cost the U.S. businesses anywhere from $19 billion to $90 billion per year to comply with, a figure mentioned by the president earlier this week in a letter to Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. Congressional Republicans and industry leaders have been sparring with the administration over the increasing cost of government regulations, arguing that the burden is preventing firms from hiring more workers...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/2/obama-halts-epas-proposed-air-quality-regs/
“I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “With that in mind, and after careful consideration, I have requested” that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson “withdraw” the proposed smog standards.
In making the move, Mr. Obama is sticking with air-quality standards set in 2008 by the administration of Republican George W. Bush, which Obama administration officials have said is based on outdated science. A White House official insisted to reporters that killing the more onerous standards was not intended “to endorse the Bush administration’s judgment,” but was done because another mandatory review of the standards is set to take place in 2013, and implementing tougher rules now could create “uncertainty.”
The current Bush ozone standard of 75 parts per billion was set over the objections of EPA scientists. Ms. Jackson has made tightening the regulation a key priority, pushing for the change ahead of the regularly scheduled five-year review in 2013.
But Cass Sunstein, the president’s “czar” in charge of regulatory review, told Ms. Jackson in a letter Friday that Mr. Obama was rejecting her proposal for more restrictive standards.
The new regulations on ozone ambient air quality standards would have cost the U.S. businesses anywhere from $19 billion to $90 billion per year to comply with, a figure mentioned by the president earlier this week in a letter to Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. Congressional Republicans and industry leaders have been sparring with the administration over the increasing cost of government regulations, arguing that the burden is preventing firms from hiring more workers...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/2/obama-halts-epas-proposed-air-quality-regs/
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