U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) recently joined Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in trying to block the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new ozone regulation by introducing a House version of Flake’s Senate-introduced measure to stop the ruling.
Gosar introduced a House resolution with 71 co-sponsors under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to disapprove the Environmental Protection Agency’s ozone ruling. Gosar's resolution is a companion bill to the Senate resolution introduced by Flake, which has 30 co-sponsors.
The CRA permits Congress to expedite a process requiring only a simple majority vote to pass legislation. Recently, the Senate successfully invoked the CRA to block the EPA’s overreaching Waters of the United States regulation.
“I am pleased that Arizona is on the forefront of fighting back against the EPA’s dangerous overreach,” Gosar said. “Senator Jeff Flake and I have introduced companion legislation. … The U.S. economy can’t afford a nearly $2 trillion hit to our GDP and the loss of millions of jobs as a result of an unnecessary and overreaching new regulation not based on science.”
At least four major utility and manufacturing organizations strongly support Gosar's resolution, among them Arizona’s Generation and Transmission Cooperatives, Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association (GCSECA), the American Petroleum Institute and the National Association of Manufacturers, all of whom came out overwhelmingly in favor of the joint resolutions.
“We value clean air and are proud that nationally ozone-forming emissions have been cut in half since 1980,” GCSECA said. “The EPA’s current proposed ozone NAAQS ( National Ambient Air Quality Standards) revisions are premature and unnecessary as the agency just updated the ozone standards six years ago.”
Additionally, dozens of associations in the manufacturing, agriculture, civic, energy and construction sectors have endorsed Gosar’s joint resolution.
“It is far past time that Congress reined in the rogue actions of the EPA,” Gosar said. “I support continuing common sense and voluntary efforts to reduce ozone levels, not unachievable mandates that will kill jobs and drive up energy prices for consumers.”