Over the last year, the hallmark of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the entire U.S. House of Representatives has been our sustained effort to promote job creation so Americans can get back to work. We’re fighting for a smaller, more accountable federal government that works for the people and promotes common-sense solutions. We opened this Congress saying jobs are job one, and our bipartisan legislative record over the last 12 months lives up to that promise. To date, the House has passed 27 bipartisan jobs bills that await action from Senate Democrats.
Last year, House Republicans launched the Plan for America’s Job Creators to offer real solutions that will help put America back to work. Republicans have been fighting to protect jobs put at risk by overzealous government regulators and promote new job creation by cutting red tape and allowing private investment to spur economic growth.
The record speaks for itself. Below is a sampling of key Energy and Commerce legislation passed by the House to protect jobs put at risk by regulations and help create new jobs. With millions of Americans out of work, it is time for the Senate to act.
The Energy Tax Prevention Act, H.R. 910, would protect up to 1.4 million jobs currently threatened by the Obama administration’s plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S. economy. This legislation puts Congress back in charge of our energy future and stops EPA’s cap-and-trade agenda, which threatens to drive up energy prices, send jobs overseas, and hamstring our economic recovery. STATUS: Passed the House April 7, 2011 by a vote of 255-172 (19 Democrats voting yes)
The Resolution Disapproving the FCC’s Internet Rules, H.J. Res. 37, overturns the FCC’s so-called network neutrality rules, which would stifle innovation and put the government in charge of how network traffic is managed and what kinds of partnerships can be formed to serve consumers. Network neutrality rules have been estimated as potentially costing hundreds of thousands of jobs. STATUS: Approved by the House on April 8, 2011 by a vote of 240-179 (6 Democrats voting yes); motion to consider defeated by the Senate on Nov. 10, 2011
The Jobs and Energy Permitting Act, H.R. 2021, would advance our nation’s energy security by eliminating the administration’s bureaucratic delays that have stalled offshore energy production in the Outer Continental Shelf. The development of Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas alone could produce up to 1 million barrels of domestic oil per day and create more than 50,000 American jobs. STATUS: Approved by the House on June 22, 2011 by a vote of 253-166 (23 Democrats voting yes)
The Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act, H.R. 2401, H.R. 2401, would protect hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk from EPA’s new power sector rules, namely the Utility MACT rule and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. NERA Economic Consulting estimates the cumulative cost of EPA’s power rules will result in net job losses of 183,000 annually, with net employment losses totaling 1.65 million job-years by 2020. STATUS: Approved by the House on Sept. 23, 2011 by a vote of 249-169 (19 Democrats voting yes)
The Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act, H.R. 2681, will protect the domestic cement manufacturing industry from new rules issued by the EPA, avoiding domestic plant closures and averting the loss of a projected 20,000 jobs from EPA’s unworkable cement MACT rules. STATUS: Approved by the House on October 6, 2011 by a vote of 262-161 (25 Democrats voting yes)
The EPA Regulatory Relief Act, H.R. 2250, offers a common-sense alternative to EPA’s regulations for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and incinerators. The bill protects more than 230,000 jobs estimated to be at risk from EPA’s boiler MACT rules. STATUS: Approved by the House on Oct. 13, 2011 by a vote of 275-142 (41 Democrats voting yes)
The Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, H.R. 2273, provides for the safe management and disposal of coal ash in a way that preserves jobs and encourages recycling. Estimates project up to 316,000 jobs lost under EPA’s proposed regulation. STATUS: Approved by the House on Oct. 14, 2011 by a vote of 267-144 (37 Democrats voting yes)
The Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, H.R. 1633, removes the regulatory uncertainty surrounding EPA’s current and future regulation of rural dust. The bill will prevent EPA from changing its standard for coarse particulate matter for one year and will exempt “nuisance dust" from federal regulation where such dust is already regulated under state, tribal, or local law. STATUS: Approved by the House on Dec. 8, 2011 by a vote of 268-150 (33 Democrats voting yes)
KEYSTONE PIPELINE
The Keystone XL Pipeline project has been a top priority for the Committee. In July the House passed the North American-Made Energy Security Act, H.R. 1938, which required the president to issue a decision on the pipeline’s construction by November 1. On Dec. 23, 2011, President Obama signed into law a bill requiring approval of the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days unless the president determines the pipeline would not serve the national interest. The president continues to delay making a decision on the shovel-ready project that would create tens of thousands of American jobs and bring millions of barrels of secure Canadian oil to U.S. refineries. It has been 132 days since the State Department declared Keystone XL was the “preferred" option and more than three years since the Keystone XL permit was filed. The clock is ticking to put Americans back to work, Mr. President.