House Passes EPA Regualtory Relief Act of 2011

Statement

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement today regarding House passage of his bill, the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 (H.R. 2250) by a bipartisan vote of 275 -- 142. The EPA Regulatory Relief Act has received hundreds of support letters from businesses, unions, and trade associations as well as support from 126 cosponsors in the House, including 25 Democrats:

"Today's historic bipartisan vote is a positive step in the fight for jobs. Unreasonable regulations -- like the currently written Boiler MACT rules -- are threatening jobs across the nation and creating uncertainty for businesses. The Council of Industrial Boiler Owners estimates that the capital costs alone of the Boiler MACT rules would exceed $14 billion and could put 230,000 jobs at risk, including 10,000 jobs in Virginia.

"The investments required by these rules are irreversible. For those businesses that decide to stop producing their product at a particular location, the job losses are also irreversible. The good news here is that excessive regulations are reversible and fixable.

"H.R. 2250 is an opportunity to fix these regulations and keep the focus on protecting valuable American jobs. This legislation provides sufficient time for the government to get the rules right and come up with a more reasonable and truly achievable approach that protects the public without imposing unnecessary costs on businesses that employ thousands of hard-working Americans.

"I applaud my colleagues in the House for supporting this common sense bill. Protecting jobs is an issue that transcends party lines and should be one of the top priorities of Congress. I urge the Senate to take up this common sense, bipartisan jobs bill and send it to the President's desk soon. There are real jobs on the line."

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