Opinion

Federal regulators need to abandon their ‘us versus them’ mentality

Ronnie Shows Former Democratic Congressman
Font Size:

Republicans often attack President Obama for his administration’s job-killing regulations. I am not in the White House very often, but I think the president and his team know that destroying jobs and hurting American businesses isn’t a very good way to get re-elected — and I can promise you that getting re-elected is President Obama’s top priority, as it should be. So, in my view, these Republican attacks are unfair.

That being said, there have been a few regulations that have been proposed or enforced that have been very harsh on important American industries, such as some of the new regulations affecting oil and gas companies.

It seems to me that many of the large federal agencies are taking an “us versus them” approach to regulating business. Rather than looking for ways to help American companies succeed in the global marketplace, many regulators are looking for ways to curb the power and influence of the business community.

One example is the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban Primatene Mist, an over-the-counter inhaler that is used to treat asthma symptoms. Primatene Mist was banned because it contains chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The EPA says it imposed this ban in accordance with a treaty signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan that determined CFCs were damaging the ozone layer and should therefore be discontinued.

A few years ago, when the EPA decided to make it illegal for stores to sell Primatene Mist after December 31, 2011, the agency thought that there would be a replacement inhaler not containing CFCs available by 2012. When 2011 ended, however, there was no replacement inhaler. What is shocking is that instead of granting Primatene Mist a waiver to keep the inhaler on store shelves until a replacement inhaler became available, the EPA went ahead and instituted the ban anyhow.

This was bad news for the millions of Americans who used to rely on Primatene Mist. Most Primatene Mist users are lower-income men, women and children who lack health insurance and cannot afford a prescription inhaler or a trip to the doctor’s office. Because there is no longer an over-the-counter treatment for asthma symptoms, if these folks need an inhaler, they are forced to go to the emergency room, which can cost thousands of dollars. If they cannot pay their hospital bills, the American taxpayer is left holding the bag.

Amphastar, the manufacturer of Primatene Mist, has over one million Primatene Mist units just sitting around. The company actually offered to give them away for free to health clinics. Amphastar thought it made more sense for those inhalers to be put to good use than for them to just collect dust. But the EPA rejected the offer. Now, the company is trying to sell the inhalers and donate all the profits to charity. There’s no telling how the EPA will react.

Why is the EPA acting this way? Why would the EPA prefer these inhalers be stored in some warehouse rather than helping people cope with their asthma symptoms?

Because there is no logical answer to these questions, one can only assume this is about the EPA asserting its authority over a drug company and not about doing the right thing. In other words, continuing this “us versus them” mentality that helps no one.

Today on Capitol Hill, a committee in the House of Representatives is holding a hearing to discuss legislation that would allow Primatene Mist back on store shelves. This is a good first step.

For almost 50 years, Primatene Mist has been viewed as a safe and effective treatment for people suffering from asthma symptoms. The EPA should do the right thing and allow Primatene Mist users to have access to the drug until another over-the-counter inhaler that does not contain CFCs hits the market. The EPA, like other government regulatory agencies, should focus on helping Americans, not exerting its authority just because it can.

Ronnie Shows is a former Democratic member of Congress and member of the Blue Dog Coalition. He represented Mississippi’s Fourth Congressional District between 1999 and 2003.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel