U.S. House Votes to Delay Ozone Rule

Last week, PACE had an opportunity to travel with one of its original partners, Manufacture Alabama, to Washington, DC, to outline the concerns of manufacturers. Among those chief concerns were energy regulations that could restrict manufacturing and hurt the economic competitiveness of American business. For the past seven years, PACE has participated in the Manufacture Alabama Fly-In.

One of the regulations of concern was a new EPA rule that lowers the threshold for ground level ozone. PACE has written extensively about the effects of the new ozone rule, reporting recently that Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado has joined the chorus of voices calling for EPA to reconsider its rule. Fortunately, progress was made toward that effort by Congress on Friday, when the House passed a bill to curb the new EPA ozone rule. Approved 234-177, H.R. 4775, the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2016, extends the date for final designation of the standard until 2025.

See the Bill Here

The bill gained total support from House Republicans and attracted support from six House Democrats, including U.S. Representative Terri Sewell from Alabama.

“The legislation passed today would delay more EPA regulatory burdens placed on our job creators,” said U.S. Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama, who supported the measure. “This bill also would require EPA Administrator McCarthy to consider feasibility when revising any National Ambient Air Quality Standards, a requirement that will halt out-of-control rule making by the EPA. This bill is a common sense way to fight against the President’s costly environmental agenda and I was pleased to support it.”

“Those who voted to delay EPA’s aggressive new ozone standard are to be commended for their decision,” says PACE Executive Director Lance Brown. “This rule has great potential to hurt the American economy, particularly the manufacturing sector, at a time when it needs help, not barriers.”