Marathon Pundit: Kinzinger and Texas Democrat battling EPA

Starved Rock, IL 11th cong. district

Last night during the presidential candidate Herman Cain said he'd like to "start over" and replace the EPA.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Congressman Charles Gonzalez (D-TX) haven't suggested going that far, but they believe that EPA overreach needs to be checked.

From a Kinzinger press release:

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-11) along with Congressman Charles Gonzalez (D-TX) today offered a bipartisan amendment to the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts to the Nation (TRAIN) Act, H.R. 2401. The Kinzinger/Gonzalez Amendment would give Americans the opportunity to receive an explanation of the costs and job impacts associated with a new EPA regulation on gasoline before it can be enforced. The amendment was adopted and the TRAIN Act passed the House with bipartisan support.

Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing a "Tier 3" rulemaking that would further reduce sulfur levels in gasoline to an average of 10ppm – this is a 70 percent change from today's already low levels. In 2004, Tier 2 rules reduced sulfur by 90 percent from 100ppm to 30ppm. The Kinzinger/Gonzalez Amendment forces the EPA to ensure that the economic and job impacts of the Tier 3 regulations are thoroughly analyzed and reviewed.

This bipartisan amendment hits directly on what Americans, particularly my constituents in Illinois, are facing every day -- the high cost of gasoline.

The impacts of the EPA's new rules could force refineries in the U.S. to slash their gasoline production by up to 14 percent, leaving the United States more dependent on foreign sources of oil. The Kinzinger/Gonzalez Amendment would require the EPA to study the economic costs of new fuel requirements. Before delivering what could be a devastating blow to the consumer and our economy, the EPA should first provide data to show lowering the sulfur content will achieve cost effective, real emissions reductions and air quality, health and welfare benefits.

Americans are fed up with the volatility in the gasoline prices. While we may not be able to control the price of oil on the global market, we can control the cost of regulations on our fuel. Every dollar that is taken out of a taxpayer's pocket due to regulations is a dollar that is not going towards fueling the American economy. We need common sense regulations and we need to know the impacts of regulations on families and businesses before they go into effect.
The bipartisan TRAIN Act will require experts from the Department of Commerce, the United States International Trade Commission, and the Department of Treasury to measure the complete economic impact of that major rules recently issued or planned by the EPA could have on American manufacturing, agriculture, small businesses, consumers, energy prices, local government and global competitiveness.

The agencies' initial draft of the report would be accessible for the public to comment. The agencies would then have to address the comments in the final report.