Last week the House passed H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act of 2011, which would require cumulative economic analysis of pending EPA regulations and delay implementation of the proposed Utility MACT and transport rules.  The House also passed H.R. 2608, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, which extends and reduces current government funding levels through November 18, 2011.

Simpson Supports Time-Out for EPA Regulations
Congressman Mike Simpson last week joined his colleagues in passing H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation, or TRAIN, Act.  The bill passed the House of Representatives 249-169.

“Like many Idahoans, I am deeply concerned that the EPA has drastically expanded its regulatory authority,” said Simpson.  “By pumping out new regulations every week, the Obama Administration is using the EPA to force on the American people an extreme environmental agenda that is hurting our fragile economy.”

The TRAIN Act calls for a needed “time out” from some of the EPA’s most egregious regulatory proposals, including the Utility MACT and the new transport rule.  Recent reports claim that if the proposed Utility MACT went into effect, it would effectively shut down one-sixth of the country’s coal-fired power plants, dramatically increasing energy costs and moving our nation further away from energy independence.  The bill also requires an analysis of the cumulative impact that EPA’s proposals on job creation and global competitiveness.

“If we really want to turn around our debt crisis, we need to get our economy going again.  Unfortunately, the EPA is the wet blanket that is preventing companies small and large from investing in their businesses and creating jobs,” said Simpson.  “Regulations like the Utility MACT and the transport rule are creating vast uncertainty in the market, leaving employers unwilling to risk hiring new employees.  The TRAIN Act is about carefully weighing the costs and benefits of government regulation.  It is about creating certainty in the marketplace, and it is about assuring businesses that it is safe to start hiring people and getting our economy moving again.”

Simpson chairs the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees funding for the EPA.  Language similar to H.R. 2401 was included in H.R. 2584, the Interior and Environment Appropriations Act for FY12.

Getting America Back to Work
By Congressman Mike Simpson
 “With more than 14 million people out of work, the economy in a holding pattern, and the stock market on a roller-coaster ride, Americans are frustrated, and rightly so.  The President’s public approval rating is low, and many perceive that Congress is only spinning its wheels.  Those who still have jobs have seen hits to their savings and investments while their cost of living has increased.  The heart of the problem is that unemployment stubbornly sits above 9%, which continues to devastate our economy.

“As I talk to employers throughout Idaho about the economic challenges they face, the common theme I hear is that tax and regulatory uncertainty has forced them to wait out the economic storm rather than investing in their businesses and creating new jobs.  To provide the long-term stability that job creators need, I believe there are three important steps Congress must take to put people back to work and get our economy going again.

“First, we must fundamentally reform entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.  We can no longer afford to look the other way on this issue—we must ensure that these crucial programs can continue to provide a safety net to those who depend on them in their daily lives. If we fail to do this, not only will those currently paying into the system see no benefit from their investment, but the programs will bankrupt our economy and collapse under their own weight.  We can and must improve these programs now without unfairly impacting the benefits already earned by those in or near retirement.

“Second, fundamental tax reform must be a critical component of any plan to address our debt crisis once and for all.  Much has been made of the debate about whether to raise taxes to balance the budget, but I believe the problem goes much deeper than that.  We must make fundamental changes to our tax code to promote economic growth while improving our ability to reduce the deficit.  The tax code should be a simple system intended to raise the necessary revenue for appropriate government functions, not a complex system directing social behavior.

“Finally, and I believe most importantly, we must put an end to the Obama Administration’s over-zealous regulatory agenda.  Unfortunately, agencies like the EPA are the wet blanket preventing businesses from investing in job creation.  It is imperative that we create certainty in the marketplace and assure businesses that it is safe to start hiring people without the threat of agencies like the EPA imposing regulations that are unreasonable and unnecessary and seem to change every few years, compounding and multiplying costs. 

“Idaho families are in the trenches, facing difficult financial decisions and trying to do the best they can in the midst of serious economic challenges. Progress in Congress on entitlement, tax and regulatory reform would send a message to the American people that Congress is serious about getting people working again and turning the economy around.”

In the News

Top Five Energy Legislators
By Margaret Ryan, AOLenergy.com, September 22, 2011

In the current contentious Congress, with the budget ax looming over everyone's sacred cows, the lawmakers considered most influential in energy are not from the most populous states, or even those most endowed with energy resources. The list doesn't include anyone from Texas or Louisiana, for instance, home to the Gulf energy powerhouse. All but one are from states ranging from 35th to 47th in population.

The most influential lawmakers who emerged from conversations with Washington insiders are mostly from states with long histories of economic dependence on the federal government, including energy programs.

New Mexico's desert blossomed as the home of the US atomic bomb program and then nuclear research. With federal lands and Native American reservations, the state nets back more per capita from the federal government than any other state.

Second in netback is Alaska, with its huge energy resources and far-flung populations. Idaho's eastern desert flourished as the Idaho National Laboratory morphed from a World War I-era Naval gunnery range into an atomic research center.

Nevada houses the national underground nuclear testing site (and has long fought adding a national nuclear waste repository there). And Michigan is the historic center of the nation's auto industry, which in recent years depended on the federal government for an infusion of new life.

While there are certainly other legislators influential in energy, the roles played by these five legislators stand out this Congress.

#5 - Representative Mike Simpson (R-ID)
Simpson chairs the Appropriations Committee's subcommittee overseeing EPA's spending, and from that perch has coordinated a flood of Republican legislation aimed at stopping much EPA regulation, which he says has "run amok."

In that effort, he crafted an EPA appropriations bill with deep implications for energy. In cutting EPA's budget 18%, the bill would slash funding for air quality rules on mercury, particulates and other coal emissions; bar EPA from regulating greenhouse gases; stop regulations to implement vehicle emissions standards the auto industry has already embraced; end EPA authority to review emissions from off-shore drilling; and stop water rules to restrict mountaintop removal coal mining. The bill even included a provision – which lost a floor vote – to bar the Interior Department from listing any new endangered species.

While this has made him a bête noire of environmentalists, it's welcomed by fossil-dependent businesses and those opposing climate change laws. The seven-term Congressman, who began his career in the family dental practice, says most Idahoans want clean air and water, but see EPA as pursuing "an extreme environmental agenda."

Simpson's district includes the Idaho National Laboratory, and he's a long-time advocate of more nuclear power. He also supports non-food-based ethanol and biodiesels.