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House appropriators advance bill slashing EPA funding
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06/20/12 01:57 PM ET
The House GOP on Wednesday advanced a 2013 spending bill with deep cuts and limitations to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The bill cuts EPA by $1.4 billion, about 17 percent, compared to current funding. The GOP points out that this brings the EPA below fiscal 1998 funding.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), who hails from coal country, said he is especially proud of the measure, which was advanced from subcommittee to the full spending panel on a voice vote.
“This represents the strong concerns of this Congress over the EPA’s unprecedented effort to drive certain industries to extinction with a cocktail of burdensome regulations, questionable guidance policies, and arbitrary enforcement measures — all designed to shut down the permitting process for energy exploration and production,” he said.
Overall the 2013 Interior and Environment bill gets $28 billion in funding — a cut of $1.2 billion below 2012 levels.
It contains a number of environmental riders, including one stopping EPA from expanding its ability to regulate “navigable waters” under the Clean Water Act.
Subcommittee ranking member Jim Moran (D-Va.) said the bill would “cause serious harm to our environment,” and vowed to repeat last year’s feat when he was able to join with Senate Democrats to remove dozens of environmental riders.
“Protecting the public’s health did not cause the recession and suspension of these laws will not sustain a recovery,” he said.
The bill cuts EPA by $1.4 billion, about 17 percent, compared to current funding. The GOP points out that this brings the EPA below fiscal 1998 funding.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), who hails from coal country, said he is especially proud of the measure, which was advanced from subcommittee to the full spending panel on a voice vote.
“This represents the strong concerns of this Congress over the EPA’s unprecedented effort to drive certain industries to extinction with a cocktail of burdensome regulations, questionable guidance policies, and arbitrary enforcement measures — all designed to shut down the permitting process for energy exploration and production,” he said.
It contains a number of environmental riders, including one stopping EPA from expanding its ability to regulate “navigable waters” under the Clean Water Act.
Subcommittee ranking member Jim Moran (D-Va.) said the bill would “cause serious harm to our environment,” and vowed to repeat last year’s feat when he was able to join with Senate Democrats to remove dozens of environmental riders.
“Protecting the public’s health did not cause the recession and suspension of these laws will not sustain a recovery,” he said.
No amendments were debated during the markup, but vigorous discussion can be expected in the full committee. Most of the hearing was taken up with tributes to full committee ranking member Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), who is retiring. Dicks spent 36 years on the subcommittee, and it was his last meeting.
-- Correction: An earlier version of this post said that the bill has a rider on New Source Performance Standards. Information that this rider is in the unpublished report was incorrect, per committee staff.
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