Last Thursday, a bill sponsored by Representative Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) passed the Republican majority house 232-181, with almost no Democratic support. The bill would effectively stall new regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency until a report was submitted detailing the costs, benefits and job impacts of any bill exceeding $1 Billion in regulatory costs. Another provision of the bill would allow the Secretary of Energy to effectively veto new rules that they felt would be too burdensome to the economy or job market.

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Supporters of the bill say it would simply put a check and balance into the current system. As EPA Regulations, by definition, have a priority of limiting environmental impact, they are biased with their policies, and may very well institute regulations that do more harm than good, comparatively speaking. Bill Cassidy charged the EPA with using “faulty research” to justify new rules.

The other side of the table isn’t convinced. From Henry Waxman (D-California): “If we give the [Department of Energy] a veto power over EPA, where do we stop? This kind of thinking would mean that our government would be so dysfunctional that the whole government would look like the Congress of the United States.” Waxman is of course referring the current congress being the least productive, in terms of number of bills made into law, since the 1940s.

To read the full article from the Times-Picaynne, click here.