Contact:
Matt Dempsey Matt_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov
(202) 224-9797
Katie Brown Katie_Brown@epw.senate.gov (202)
224-2160
Inhofe on Fox News: Obama Failing to Comply With Law
on Regulation Transparency
Says Obama Hiding Unpopular Job-Killing Second Term
Agenda Until After the Election
WATCH VIDEO HERE
Inhofe Letter to President Obama
Inhofe-EPW
Senate Report Reveals Economic Pain of Obama-EPA Regulations Put on Hold Until
After the Election
Washington, D.C. – On Fox News
this morning, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works, exposed that the Obama administration
has failed to comply with the law requiring them to publish in the Federal
Register their regulatory agendas. Inhofe, a guest on Fox and Friends,
revealed that it has been more than a year since the administration complied
with its legal obligation to issue such a report every 6 months. Senator Inhofe
announced he has sent a letter to President Obama requesting the administration
adhere to its next statutory deadline. As the ranking member of the Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works, Inhofe expressed specific concerns
about EPA’s regulatory agenda.
“As he works to preserve his own job, President Obama
is covering up his administration’s job-killing regulatory agenda that he will
unleash in a second term,” Senator Inhofe said. “The reason is simple:
President Obama has spent the past four years working to kill American energy
production of oil, gas, and coal. Today however, President Obama is running as
fast as he can from his green energy agenda and trying to convince voters of
his love of fossil fuels. Yet a look at the past four years, as well as what he
has in the works at the Obama-EPA, reveals a very different story. The last
thing President Obama wants to admit to is that his administration is currently
actively working to regulate traditional energy resources out of existence. As
bad as the economy has sputtered in Obama’s first four years, you haven’t seen
anything yet.
“The bottom line however, is that running for election
is no excuse for failing to comply with the law. President Obama owes the
American public not only a full explanation on why he has failed to comply with
the law, but the honest truth about the regulatory onslaught coming in a second
term. No wonder the left-leaning Washington Post stated that the
Obama-EPA has ‘earned a reputation for abuse.’”
The letter states in part:
“The Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. § 602) requires federal agencies to publish in the Federal
Register their regulatory agendas describing economically significant
regulatory actions under development. The Act requires these agendas be
published on a semiannual basis, specifically in April and October. It has
come to my attention, however, that the federal government is not adhering to
this legal requirement.”
“As Ranking Member of the Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works, which has jurisdiction over the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), my primary concern is with the Agency’s
refusal to be open and transparent about its regulatory agenda.
Magnifying this concern is that EPA, in what appears to be a string of
politically motivated decisions, has “punted” or put on hold until after
the election a number of economically damaging regulations, including
greenhouse gas regulations, strict mandates for ground-level ozone, as well as
guidance which seeks to greatly expand EPA’s authority to regulate waters of
the U.S.”
Last week Senator Inhofe released a detailed report that
enumerates the slew of environmental regulations that the Obama-Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has quietly delayed or punted on before the election.
As this report reveals, these rules taken together will inevitably result in
the elimination of millions of American jobs, drive up the price of gas at the
pump even more, impose construction bans on local communities, and essentially
shut down American oil, natural gas, and coal production. Despite several
media outlets requesting comment from the Obama-EPA on the report, the EPA
refused to comment. The Obama-EPA silence is to be expected. As Ken Ward
Jr, President of the Society of Environmental Journalists recently commented
the “Obama
EPA is the most difficult to get information and answers out of that I've
covered in 20 years."
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