The head of the National Black Chamber of Commerce called out Obama’s EPA regulations as harmful to minorities at a Congressional hearing Tuesday.
Harry Alford, the president and CEO of the group, pointed out two regulations in particular he says are hurting minorities in America, the Clean Power Plan and the National Ozone Air Quality Standard.
Alford said the Clean Power Plan, which regulates greenhouse emissions, would increase black poverty by 23 percent and Hispanic poverty by 26 percent. Meanwhile, he said it would increase their energy costs by more than 15 percent by 2035.
“These communities already suffer from higher unemployment and poverty rates compared to the rest of the country, yet the EPA’s regressive energy tax threatens to push minorities and low-income Americans even further into poverty,” Alford testified.
Alford said the National Ozone Air Quality Standard, which deals with regulating air quality, puts extra burdens on minorities because they are concentrated in urban areas where pollution is higher.
“Most importantly, the loss of development and economic expansion would affect many of the blue-collar jobs that power our low-income and minority communities,” Alford’s testimony reads.
The hearing was held by the Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts with Republican Presidential candidate and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Alford did point out that regulations have an important role, but he was clear that overregulation is hurting minorities.
“As the hearing title suggests, the continuous stream of unreasonable and overreaching regulations that have come out of the federal government over the last few years has led to the denial of countless opportunities for minorities,” reads Alford’s testimony. “Employment opportunities, income opportunities, and housing opportunities for minorities – all of these are being compromised by an ever-growing number of federal regulations.”
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