Three Democrats warn of expanded EPA regulations impact on jobs

While most Democrats on Wednesday opposed the GOP's bill to restrict the Environmental Protection Agency authorities, three Democrats spoke in favor of it on the House floor and said failure to rein in the EPA would hurt job creation in rural areas of the country.

The House was debating H.R. 910, which would prohibit the EPA's regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) was the first Democrat to speak out in favor of the bill, and rejected the idea put forward by other Democrats that the bill should be called the "Dirty Air Act." He said letting one agency decide how to regulate GHG is putting too much authority into a single agency.

"No single government agency, however, is sufficiently positioned to tackle the complex solution that's required to address carbon emissions," he said. "The answer has to be multi-pronged."

Rahall also said the EPA is not required to consider the impact on jobs. "These are not matters that the EPA is required to consider, or equipped to address," he said. "To simply allow the EPA to move ahead on its own in crafting a national strategy on climate change is a recipe for disaster."

Democratic Reps. Dan Boren (Okla.) and Collin Peterson (Minn.) also spoke out in support of the bill. Boren said limiting the EPA's authority would save "thousands of American jobs," while Peterson said U.S. agricultural producers want to ensure the EPA is "reined in."

These Democrats are three of the 12 who voted in support of the rule for the bill, H.R. 910. The others were Reps. Jason Altmire (Pa.), Sanford Bishop (Ga.), Mark Critz (Pa.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Tim Holden (Pa.), Larry Kissell (NC), Jim Matheson (Utah), Mike Ross (Ark.) and Heath Shuler (NC).