News Releases
Sen. Moran Introduces Bill to Hold EPA Accountable for Job Losses Caused by Overregulation
Mar 27 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) this week in introducing the EPA Employment Impact Analysis Act, a bill to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing any major regulations until the agency analyzes the economic impact of its current air regulations as required under Section 321(a) of the Clean Air Act.
“The EPA’s continued efforts to create and implement new rules before the full cost of its existing Clean Air Act regulations are known is hindering economic growth and increasing the cost of doing business in the United States,” Sen. Moran said. “Once again, American businesses are being put at a competitive disadvantage and are losing access to world markets because of government overreach. Our government should not be an adversary when it comes to the success of a business in the United States. Today I introduced legislation to stop the EPA from implementing any more job-killing regulations until the economic impact of its current regulations are fully known so businesses in Kansas and across our country may be optimistic about the future of the American economy.”
The EPA Employment Impact Analysis Act cites a number of examples where the EPA concluded that a regulation would result in the creation of jobs, yet National Economic Research Associates (NERA) Economic Consulting, using a “whole economy” model, reported that the same regulation would result in thousands of job losses. Examples include:
- Utility MACT rule (77 Fed. Reg. 9301): EPA’s analysis of the Utility MACT rule estimated that implementation of the final rule would result in the creation of 46,000 temporary construction jobs and 8,000 net new permanent jobs. NERA’s whole economy analysis found that the rule would have a negative impact on the income of workers in an amount equivalent to 180,000 to 215,00 lost jobs in 2014, and 50,000 to 85,000 lost jobs each year thereafter.
- Cross State Air Pollution rule (76 Fed. Reg. 48208): The EPA’s analysis of the Cross State Air Pollution rule estimated that implementation of the final rule would result in the creation of 700 jobs per year. NERA’s whole economy analysis found that the rule would result in the elimination of 34,000 jobs from 2013 to 2037.
- Boiler MACT rule (76 Fed. Reg. 15608): EPA’s analysis of the Boiler MACT rule estimated that implementation of the final rule would result in the creation of 2,200 jobs per year. NERA’s whole economy analysis found that the rule would result in the elimination of 28,000 jobs per year from 2013 to 2037.
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