McConnell Calls on Senate Democrats to Pass Bill Blocking EPA Regulation

by Dan Conti, Kentucky Public RadioSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell today called on majority Democrats in the Senate to approve the EPA Regulatory Relief Act. The bill would repeal limits on mercury and other emissions from cement kilns, as well as change the law by eliminating any deadlines for compliance with new federal pollution standards.The measure passed the House last month with 41 Democratic votes. McConnell says he recognizes the importance of the EPA, but the agency’s recent regulations go too far. He called for “common sense limits” on the EPA’s actions.“And that means putting in place laws that protect Americans against the kind of regulatory overreach that too many unelected bureaucrats in Washington seem to live for these days,” he said.McConnell says if the new boiler regulations go into effect, 230,000 jobs would be in jeopardy. The EPA has defended the boiler regulation, presenting analyses that show the regulation would actually create more than 2,000 new jobs, even when jobs manufacturing and installing pollution control equipment aren’t considered.