Blocking Regulatory Interference From Closing Kilns Act of 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today, the BRICK Act, makes commonsense adjustments to preserve small businesses and American jobs while still protecting the environment. This bill addresses the impact of regulations and policies aimed at brickmakers, and-- particularly important to many in my home state, wood stoves.

In many parts of Oregon, we're surrounded by forests and affordable wood, so wood stoves are often the most economical way to heat a home or a ranch shop. Oregonians also know what a real air pollution crisis looks like, as we have recently dealt with the thick smoke from several very bad wildfires across the state. Compared to that, wood stove emissions are far from a crisis, especially now that they all must comply with EPA's 2015 emissions standards. There is no reason to threaten wood heater affordability as well as industry jobs by insisting on the unworkable 2020 deadline for the next round of standards. This bill takes the sensible step of extending the deadline to 2023, thus preserving wood heater choice and affordability.

Opponents of these bills have claimed that H.R. 1917 is harmful to the environment and public health protections, but I think we need to maintain a sense of perspective.

Neither brickmakers nor wood heaters are a significant source of emissions, and both industries have already reduced emissions significantly due to earlier regulations that are not affected under this bill. For example, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the brick industry has already committed millions of dollars to install and operate controls to reduce emissions by nearly 95 percent in order to comply with previous regulations.

Perhaps most importantly, this bill does not repeal any health-based regulation--it simply makes minimal, temporal adjustments to reduce the risk of plant shutdowns, layoffs, and higher prices for consumers. We should be looking at ways to get people working, not imposing unnecessary and tough to meet regulatory timeframes that take away people's livelihoods.

We need a balanced approach. These brickmakers and wood heater manufacturers are important employers in the small communities where many are located. The data shows that there is little environmental justification for inflicting economic harm on these small businesses and their communities, and thus there is every reason to pass this bill to ensure that any such harm is avoided.

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