White House: Republicans’ EPA attacks distract from economic fixes

One is a recently finalized rule that requires cuts in interstate power plant emissions that worsen ozone and particulate pollution. The other is an upcoming rule to cut air toxics, such as mercury, from power plants.

The bill prevents the EPA from finalizing the “Cross-State Air Pollution Rule” for roughly four years at a minimum and then provides another three years for implementation. It would also prevent power plant air toxics rules from coming into force for more than a half-dozen years at a minimum.

“Today the House of Representatives voted to roll back Clean Air Act protections that will prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of childhood asthma attacks,” Carney said Friday after the bill passed.

Congressional Democrats and green groups have emphasized that the House bill paves the way for indefinite delays because the legislation does not provide any deadlines for completion of the rules.

But Republicans and some conservative Democrats – backed by major business groups – say a timeout is needed because EPA is pursuing overly aggressive regulations that they allege will stifle job growth (a claim EPA backers dispute).

Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on Friday called the bill “a commonsense approach to remove regulations that are prohibiting jobs from being created in America and stimulating the American economy.”

The White House has threatened a veto of the bill, which was introduced by Reps. John Sullivan (R-Okla.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah).