Release: Across-the-Board Regulatory Freeze Is Political Stunt; Harmful to Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C – Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4078, the Red Tape Reduction Act, by a vote of 245 to 172. President Obama has issued a veto threat for this bill.

Originally threatening to stop regulations until an unemployment level of 94 percent is reached, this regulatory omnibus package would aggressively halt all significant regulations until unemployment reaches 6 percent. It will delay a wide range of critical regulations that Americans have consistently supported, including:

Fuel Efficiency Standards: These rules require a fleetwide average for cars and trucks of 40.1 miles per gallon (mpg) in model year 2021 and 49.6 mpg in model year 2025. From 2017-2025, the estimated net benefits of the improved fuel standards range from $311 billion to $421 billion. HR 4078 would prevent the adoption of these new fuel efficiency standards—hurting not just the environment and public health, but consumer pocketbooks as well

EPA’s Soot Rule: This critical public health rule will strengthen pollution standards by reducing the acceptable size of particulate matter emitted from automobile exhausts, power plants, or factories. The American Lung Association estimates that the U.S. will experience as many as 1.4 million avoidable asthma attacks among children for each year this important rule is delayed.

Energy Efficiency Standards: The Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed energy efficiency standards for a range of products, including commercial refrigeration equipment, residential clothes washers, walk-in coolers and freezers, and battery chargers. DOE estimates the net savings from implementation of these energy efficiency standards to range from $48 billion to $105 billion. Delay would injure the U.S. economy, undermine job creation, and further cede global competitiveness to nations such as China.

The bill also continues the Republican onslaught against the National Environmental Policy Act’s environmental review process by creating a parallel regulatory approval scheme for an ill-defined subset of federal activities. The provisions also foreclose meaningful public input and impose arbitrary, one-size-fits-all deadlines for the approval process of federal construction projects.

In response to passage of this bill, Members of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) released the following statement:

“This GOP bill is not just the latest in a series of blatant attacks against regulations. It represents an all-out assault on the protections that keep our air clean, our lungs free of toxins, and ensure that Americans can reduce their energy and health care costs. It also steamrolls the public’s ability to have a say in any federal construction project. Contrary to Republican mantra, this bill will do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Americans. Instead, it will allow their special-interest allies to do more damage at the expense of the American taxpayer. We urge House Republicans to stop wasting time on bills that only serve to benefit their special-interest buddies and answer the call of Americans to focus on job creation and economic opportunity.”