Gardner continues to press EPA on jobs impact

WASHINGTON D.C. – In a letter to Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) the EPA insists that burdensome regulations “[do] not cause a significant change in employment.”

This comes on the heels of an April admission by a top EPA official that the agency does not directly consider the impact on jobs when issuing new regulations.

“It is time for the EPA to give Congress some straight answers about the consequences its regulations have on jobs and the economy, without knowing that information how can we judge whether a regulation is necessary or harmful,” Gardner said.

In a startling exchange from April, an EPA expert admits the agency, contrary to the President’s Executive Order, does not directly examine regulations’ impacts on jobs.

After the exchange, Gardner wrote a letter demanding an explanation from EPA Administration Lisa Jackson.  The response letter he recently received left Gardner unconvinced that the agency was taking seriously the effect its regulations have on jobs.

Highlights of the EPA response:

• When asked how the EPA will quantify both the direct and indirect effect on U.S. job creation and employment associated with particular regulation in the future, its response was vague and incomplete.
• When asked if the EPA would review existing regulations with an eye toward the impact on jobs, the agency cites a study insisting that environmental regulations “[do] not cause a significant change in employment.”
• Asked whether it is in violation of Executive Order 13563, which directs government agencies to look at all new and existing regulations with an eye toward “promoting economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation,” the EPA does not give a direct response.