Quit feeding the EPA beast

“Overburdensome and unnecessary federal regulations can choke the life out of small businesses by imposing costly and often-ineffectual remedies to problems that may not exist.”

Do you know which U.S. Senator wrote the above quote? It’s not any of the usual suspects like Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), or Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), or Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)—though I think all three would agree.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wrote these words in 1996 following the passage of the Congressional Review Act, which he proudly proclaimed “gives Congress the power to reject within 60 days any regulation the President or any Executive authority promulgates.”

Now, Sen. Reid’s colleague Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is set to invoke the Congressional Review Act for the sake of protecting small businesses and consumers across America. As Sen. Reid wrote, Congress should give “small-business owners the tools necessary for economic survival in our rapidly changing economy.”

In January, Sen. Murkowski introduced a resolution of disapproval of the EPA’s endangerment finding on greenhouse gases. When she introduced her bipartisan motion, co-sponsored by 40 other Senators, she made note that the EPA’s “command and control” approach to regulation of greenhouse gases would be an “economic train wreck” for the country.

Given the rules of the Congressional Review Act process—which Sen. Reid famously helped create—Congress is expected to vote on Sen. Murkowski’s resolution soon. If her resolution passes, the EPA will be barred from regulating greenhouse gases from sources like farms, hospitals, power plants, and schools. If her resolution does not pass, the EPA will likely move forward with their plan to impose unreasonable regulations without Congress’s consent on the American economy that will surely do more harm than good.