Washington, DC - Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader Morgan Griffith (R-VA) delivered remarks at an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Excerpts and highlights from his remarks:
On the Critical Mission of the EPA
“Today’s hearing can help us build on the important work that the Energy and Commerce Committee and the EPA have accomplished to date. Between 2015 and 2018, Republicans were in the Majority and we pushed bipartisan hearings and bipartisan legislative efforts on issues such as reducing carbon emissions, boosting renewable energy options, driving modernization and innovation within industry, pushing Brownfields cleanup and redevelopment, increasing compliance for drinking water infrastructure, and improving compliance with ozone standards, to name a few.
“I also want to highlight several of the EPA’s key accomplishments over the past four years. For example, the agency focused on Brownfields and Superfund contaminated sites, and in doing so, delisted 82 sites from the National Priorities List. In fiscal year 2020 alone, the EPA was able to delete 27 sites from the list- the most in nearly 20 years. And since 2017, emissions of the six criteria air pollutants dropped seven percent overall by the end of 2019, and unhealthy days for sensitive groups dropped by 34 percent. The EPA took steps to champion recycling and combat marine debris. The EPA invested in America’s clean water and drinking water infrastructure; updated the Lead and Copper Rule, providing a comprehensive approach for reducing lead in the drinking water; and implemented the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, which will reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants. These are just a few examples of the accomplishments achieved by the federal government over the past four years to help further the mission of the agency.
“With this foundation, we should examine broad questions on the EPA’s future: What should be the mission of the EPA? If the EPA mission is to be changed, that discussion begins in this committee and Congress determines that change. Is the EPA effectively carrying out its mission? This committee should make that determination. What are the EPA’s most serious and complex challenges? Can the agency’s current structure, operations, and culture meet these challenges?"
On the Relationships Between the EPA and Industry
“When making such determinations and inquiries, we would of course want to hear from former EPA Administrators and former senior EPA officials. But the success of EPA’s actions do not depend just on agency employees, but on compliance by the regulated sector and the confidence of the public.
“EPA regulators should treat most regulated parties as partners, as cooperators in improving the environment. As former EPA Administrator William Reilly stated, “Respect for those most affected and inconvenienced by EPA rules and regulations is critical to winning the country’s trust in EPA."
“However, in winning public confidence, it is essential that EPA regulators have a realistic and fact-based understanding of the extent that our nation’s base power load is still reliant on fossil fuels. The real-world impacts of EPA’s regulatory decisions should be understood. Section 321 of the Clean Air Act calls for the EPA to evaluate the cumulative employment impacts of Clean Air Act regulations. It is critical that fossil fuel workers and their communities are included in these evaluations. The EPA, while striving to fulfill its mission, should pay close attention to all aspects of public health, including mental health, because stripping away the generational livelihood from thousands of Americans kills. It kills people. It kills families. It kills communities.
“Protecting the environment and promoting an innovative economy are not mutually exclusive ideals. It doesn’t have to be a clean environment or jobs. I hope today’s discussion is a step for us to find common ground on ways to ensure the EPA does not ignore impacts on working men and women."
