AFP: Administration Right to Re-Evaluate Regulatory and Rulemaking Processes

Aug 8, 2018 by AFP

Arlington, VA – Today, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) submitted public comments supporting actions by the administration to curb excessive regulations that are limiting opportunity for American businesses and workers.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was instituted to require federal agencies to evaluate the environmental impact of their activities. In the nearly 50 years since its enactment, compliance with NEPA has become increasingly complex, stifling innovation and costing America thousands of well-paying jobs. Today, AFP submitted comments in support of Docket No. CEQ-2018-0001, which will reduce costs to taxpayers by eliminating unnecessary and overly burdensome regulatory red tape.

Click Here to View AFP’s Comment to the Council of Environmental Quality

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) cost-benefit analysis process has become fraught with estimation and guesswork, leaving American taxpayers to cover the costs. AFP submitted comments in support of Docket No. EPA-HQ-OQ-2018-0107, which will re-focus the EPA’s process of cost-benefit analysis toward reducing costs and maximizing benefits to Americans. Our country is a world leader in both energy production and environmental stewardship, and these changes will help our agencies make the smart decisions necessary to ensure that leadership continues.

Click Here to View AFP’s Comment to the Environmental Protection Agency

Americans for Prosperity Chief Government Affairs Officer Brent Gardner had this to say:

““The American people are no stranger to the fact that Washington bureaucracies often breed bad solutions in search of nonexistent problems. Taxpayers shouldn’t be the victims of manufactured justifications for counterproductive rules. If analysis shows the benefits of a rule outweigh the existence of the industry it regulates, that should be a red flag, not a green light. We stand firmly behind this administration’s efforts to ensure accuracy in cost analyses and improve the regulatory process.”

Background:

Under the Obama administration, the EPA promulgated an average of 565 new rules every year. The methodology the EPA has historically used to assess proposed rules and regulations is incomplete, misleading, and often fails to capture the full economic impact of the regulations. The EPA estimated that the benefits of two rules – the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and the Mercury Air Transport Standard – would yield an estimated $380 billion every year in health benefits. Considering that the coal industry contribution to the U.S. gross domestic product is “only” on the order of nearly $225 billion per year, if the EPA’s benefits estimate were even partially true, it would actually make sense to just shut down the coal industry entirely.

A Heritage Foundation study found that the average time to complete a NEPA impact assessment for a transportation project has expanded from 2.2 years in the 1970s, to 4.4 years in the 1980s, to 5.1 years between 1995 and 2001, and to 6.6 years in 2011.Thesedelays can be costly and slow down critical infrastructure maintenance.

For further information or to set up an interview, please send an email to GBraud@afphq.org.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state, and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. AFP has more than 3.2 million activists across the nation, a local infrastructure that includes 36 state chapters, and has received financial support from more than 100,000 Americans in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

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