Suzanimal
06-13-2016, 08:09 PM
Sunday, June 12, 2016 12:00 am
By Dr. Rand Paul
When I ran for office, I made a promise to Kentucky that I would always read the bills. So last week in the Senate when regulation of the chemical industry came up for a rushed vote, I told my colleagues, "Give me time to read what's in it before I vote on behalf of the people I represent."
Any Kentuckian who is fed up with the federal government's regulatory overreach will be glad that I did.
I spent the past week reading this bill, a sweeping federal takeover of chemical regulations, and I am now more worried than I was before I read it.
First and foremost, this bill gives more power to the Environmental Protection Agency. As a Kentuckian, I can't in good conscience vote for a bill that makes the EPA stronger.
This bill, which is a dangerous preemption of state laws, gives the EPA the power to decide at some later date how and to what extent to regulate the chemical industry at the federal level. In fact, more than 100 times the bill leaves discretionary authority to the EPA to make decisions or create new rules.
I always thought that we needed more balance, not less, in deciding on new regulations. I always thought that we should balance the environment and the economy. Instead of balancing the economic effects and the environmental effects, this bill explicitly says that the economic impact of regulations is only considered after the EPA has decided to regulate.
I've always wondered, when businesses get together and seek federal regulation, have they not paid any attention to what has been going on in Washington? Are they unaware of the devastating explosion of federal regulations?
...
http://www.the-messenger.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/article_cb2173da-d084-5656-991c-6927c02e3836.html
By Dr. Rand Paul
When I ran for office, I made a promise to Kentucky that I would always read the bills. So last week in the Senate when regulation of the chemical industry came up for a rushed vote, I told my colleagues, "Give me time to read what's in it before I vote on behalf of the people I represent."
Any Kentuckian who is fed up with the federal government's regulatory overreach will be glad that I did.
I spent the past week reading this bill, a sweeping federal takeover of chemical regulations, and I am now more worried than I was before I read it.
First and foremost, this bill gives more power to the Environmental Protection Agency. As a Kentuckian, I can't in good conscience vote for a bill that makes the EPA stronger.
This bill, which is a dangerous preemption of state laws, gives the EPA the power to decide at some later date how and to what extent to regulate the chemical industry at the federal level. In fact, more than 100 times the bill leaves discretionary authority to the EPA to make decisions or create new rules.
I always thought that we needed more balance, not less, in deciding on new regulations. I always thought that we should balance the environment and the economy. Instead of balancing the economic effects and the environmental effects, this bill explicitly says that the economic impact of regulations is only considered after the EPA has decided to regulate.
I've always wondered, when businesses get together and seek federal regulation, have they not paid any attention to what has been going on in Washington? Are they unaware of the devastating explosion of federal regulations?
...
http://www.the-messenger.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/article_cb2173da-d084-5656-991c-6927c02e3836.html