Yesterday I wrote a post about Eric Cantor's memo that targets 10 Federal regulations,seeking rollbacks on behalf of G.O.P. donor industries.
New Cantor memo says more dirty air & fewer rights for workers will produce more jobs
Among the regulations Cantor's memo attacked was one tightening the regulation of Ozone. Here's that portion of the memo:
Memo On Upcoming Jobs Agenda
Ozone Rule (Winter): This effective ban or restriction on construction and industrial growth for much of America is possibly the most harmful of all the currently anticipated Obama Administration regulations. Consequences would reach far across the U.S. economy, resulting in an estimated cost of $1 trillion or more over a decade and millions of jobs. Unlike her predecessors, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is pushing for a premature readjustment of the current ozone standards, dramatically increasing the number of “nonattainment” areas. The new readjustment rule is expected early this fall and I expect the Energy and Commerce Committee to act swiftly to prevent its implementation, in order to protect American jobs.
A favorite Republican theme that Americans are clamoring for dirtier air and a more polluted planet.
In his ongoing failing strategy to go along with Republicans to get along with Republicans Obama followed the Cantor's memo's section on Ozone the very next day.
Breaking: Obama asks EPA to withdraw proposed ozone standards
Since Republicans aren't about to get along with Obama this was castigated as not enough. Republicans are thrilled that Obama killed smog regulations ... now they want more
So my question is how many of the other nine regulations Cantor's memo targets is Obama prepared to give away to the Republicans?
Cantor's sponsors' wish list was given an extremest makeover and now being presented as a phoney jobs agenda in his memo. Let's look at a few of the other federal regulations that Cantor's memo targets.
Climate change is a top priority for many progressives, I know it is for me.
Greenhouse Gas (Winter): The EPA’s upcoming greenhouse gas new source performance standards (NSPS) will affect new and existing oil, natural gas, and coal-fired power plants, as well as oil refineries, nationwide. While the impact on the economy and jobs are likely to be severe, the rules are quickly moving forward, once again revealing the Administration’s disregard for the consequences of their policies on our jobs crisis. Again, I expect Chairman Upton and the Energy and Commerce Committee to move swiftly in the coming months to protect American jobs and consumers.
Cantor's memo targets a new regulation that reduces employers unfair advantage in being able to coerce employees before elections on whether to have union representation or not by insuring speedy union certification elections, instead of a procees that employers can drag out for extended periods.
NLRB’s Ambush Elections (Winter): This summer, the NLRB issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that could significantly alter current union representation election procedures, giving both employers and employees little time to react to union formations in the future. The result will increase labor costs and uncertainty for nearly all private employers in the U.S. The House will soon consider legislation that will bring common sense to union organizing procedures to protect the interests of both employers and their workers.
Utilities have been squealing about new EPA rules that will finally force them to clean up their oldest and dirtiest coal fired power plants, or replace them. Complying with the new regulations would create a lot of jobs.
Utility MACT and CSAPR (Week of September 19): The Administration’s new maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards and cross-state air pollution rule (CSAPR) for utility plants will affect electricity prices for nearly all American consumers. In total, 1,000 power plants are expected to be affected. The result for middle class Americans? Annual electricity bill increases in many parts of the country of anywhere from 12 to 24 percent. H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act, sponsored by Rep. John Sullivan (OK), would require a cumulative economic analysis for specific EPA rules, and specifically delay the final date for both the utility MACT and CSAPR rules until the full impact of the Obama Administration’s regulatory agenda has been studied.
Will Obama use these regulations as bargaining chips, or will he fight for needed regulations, or will he just give the Republicans what they want in exchange for nothing like the White House did today with Ozone regulation?
AMERICANS DON'T NEED NO STINKING JOBS!