There’s so much wrong with the current budget debate – but what can you do, but focus.
I know I’m “preaching to the choir” for the most part by posting this. But, I've decided to take an ALEC philosophy and try to "educate" as many people as I can.
It’s important to remember when we look at policy and budget issues being proposed today, we have no idea how many current US House and Senate members have been “educated” by ALEC. (If you don’t know what ALEC is – please see this report).
GOP leaders in the House of Representatives put together and passed a funding bill for the remainder of the fiscal year that would devastate nearly every facet of EPA's work. The measure would reduce the EPA's budget by an astounding $3 billion, cutting it 29 percent from 2010. And while they were at it, the House included a provision to permanently suspend EPA's ability to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions that result in climate change.
The so-called riders added to a budget the Republican- controlled House passed in February include a provision barring the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases and a ban on agency plans to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.
The environmental policy directives sought by House Republicans include one that would bar the EPA from moving ahead with plans to classify fly ash -- a byproduct of coal-fired power plants -- as hazardous waste.
The riders were offered in the dark of night and bypassed the usual committee and floor processes that allow for a democratic and accountable debate. This stealth attack allowed lawmakers to attack a host of programs and protections that Americans support
ALEC has historically had on-going issues with Federal regulations that they deem as bad for business and detrimental their ‘principled position in support of free markets”.. They have focused specifically on the EPA in many of their publications that they distribute to their members as “educational” material. Here's just a few things ALEC has published.
Ten years ago, an ill-founded international agreement to reduce hydrocarbon fuel consumption was conceived, named the Kyoto Protocol, and its issue has resulted in the consideration of carbon dioxide emission standards … A critical issue in the free market approach to production and transmission of energy is that of fuel diversity. The greatest threat to national independence is the regulatory burden placed upon the marketplace from fuel supplies to emission standards. ALEC Annual Report 2001 and 2002
For instance, the American Enterprise Institute- Brookings Institution Joint Center for Regulatory Studies estimate that roughly half of environmental regulations save lives, but often at costs far disproportionate to the likely benefits achieved. ALEC Policy Forum Summer/Fall 2002
So what should we do? What is the best way to adapt to a changing climate? In America, the answer is simple—free markets. Government programs may be attractive to some, but they cannot adjust to changing conditions like market-driven decisions can. April 2007 Inside ALEC
The new heavy handed EPA, however, operates far more like an activist for whom no standard is too high, no impact too onerous, no risk too low and no science too speculative. … The steady onslaught of aggressive EPA actions is creating a regulatory climate that has started to freeze investment and job creation. … The sheer number of recent EPA actions is staggering, but the revised federal standards for ozone and fast-tracked greenhouse gas regulation are the most heavy-hitting. These rules would impact large industry and small business across the country. November/December 2010 Inside ALEC
A stealth attack - in the name of free markets? Only the GOP know the answer to that question.