One member of Congress is so angry at the Environmental Protection Agency that he introduced a bill Wednesday that would prevent it from working on any new regulations until it conducts an extensive review of every single existing rule, The Hill is reporting.
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) has introduced the "Stop the EPA Act," which would halt every existing rule until the review is complete, and require any existing or future rule with an economic impact of more than $50 million to be reviewed and approved by Congress.
Graves said in a statement that the legislation would protect Americans from an "out-of-control" EPA agenda.
He introduced the legislation after EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy visited his home district to reassure farmers about changes to the Waters of the United States rule, The Hill reported. The changes, which are open for public comment until October, seek to clarify protections for streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
“Administrator McCarthy and the EPA will soon find out that Washington bureaucrats are becoming far too aggressive in attacking our way of life," said Graves, who is the chairman of the Small Business Committee. "My legislation will give the American people a voice in the regulator’s room when the President and the EPA try and go around Congress."
Asked for comment on the bill, EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia said the agency would continue to work to carry out its mission.
"EPA was created by Congress to protect public health and the environment and we are committed to fulfilling our mission," she said, "because all sides should agree that we have a moral obligation to leave a healthier, safer planet for the next generation."
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