A measure that would require the EPA to publicly report on how its existing regulations under the Clean Air Act impact the economy before new regulations are finalized would foster job creation and recovery, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said on Thursday.
“I continue to hear from struggling job creators and small business owners in Missouri and nationwide that excessive regulations and high utility bills remain some of the biggest obstacles to job creation and economic growth,” Blunt said. “If we really want to address our long-term unemployment problem, it’s time that the EPA and the Obama Administration actually take into account the economic impact of their costly and onerous regulations.”
Blunt cosponsored an amendment to the Senate bill that would extend unemployment benefits that was introduced by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). The amendment would enforce a provision of the Clean Air Act that requires the EPA to conduct studies on the economic impact of its regulations.
“Our economy has struggled to regain lost jobs from the 2008 recession largely in part to the Obama Administration’s costly regulatory agenda,” Inhofe said. “… My amendment is a commonsense solution to help bring an end to our long-term unemployment crisis and to bring much-needed transparency to the EPA’s reckless regulatory policies.”