Hartzler: Obama, EPA costing jobs

(From Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler)

Missourians share an appreciation for a clean environment and a sincere desire to make our planet better for future generations. But the ill-conceived extreme environmentalism of President Obama and his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deals a devastating blow to Missouri families—costing jobs and bringing skyrocketing bills.

Hardworking Missourians—particularly those living in agricultural regions—are already familiar with the disturbing Waters of the United States rule. This rule twists the 1972 Clean Water Act to define “navigable waterway” as any stream, creek, or ditch with water that might eventually make its way into an actual navigable waterway. Farmers and livestock producers across Missouri are outraged they will need permission from a Washington bureaucrat to work their land.

More recently, we have seen the EPA’s attempt to unilaterally regulate states’ electricity systems through mandates that will result in dramatic increases in heating and cooling bills for hardworking Missourians. These radical mandates are yet another Obama Administration overreach and are not being made with the best interests of the people in mind.

My House colleagues and I recently passed the Ratepayer Protection Act, allowing states to opt out of the federal rule if implementation would have significant adverse effects on ratepayers. In Missouri, cost increases as a result of this rule are projected to reach 12 percent annually. This is not acceptable. Fortunately, the Supreme Court has agreed with this common sense that is sorely lacking in the Obama Administration’s edicts, ruling the EPA failed to take into account the costs to utilities in setting its overzealous air pollution standards.

No one is opposed to a clean environment. The extreme course charted by the Obama Administration, however, ignores the impact on the people it claims to help. Common sense with a willful respect for the people must prevail over the Administration’s incessant attack on industries so many of us rely on.