Obama caves to Republican/Big Business demands: Ditches EPA's ozone regulations!

[Better Believe It]

Obama Tells EPA To Ditch New Ozone Regulations
By AMY BINGHAM
September 2, 2011

Just days after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced the House would begin voting to repeal proposed air quality regulations that he said would prevent job growth, President Obama instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw its proposed ozone regulations.

"I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover," Obama said in a statement.

In a jobs agenda memo to House Republicans, Cantor said the proposed ozone regulations would be "possibly the most harmful of all the currently anticipated Obama administration regulations" and would cost at least $1 trillion over a decade to implement. The EPA estimates that the public health benefits from the regulations could save up to $100 billion per year.

But EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson wrote Wednesday in a Huffington Post Op-ed that delaying the implementation of the proposed standards would "leave companies uncertain about investing" and prevent them from creating more jobs.

Read the full article at:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/eric-cantors-jobs-plan-aims-block-epa-regulations/story?id=14431008


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Obama Withdraws Environmental Rules, Citing Business Burden
By Mary Bruce
September 2, 2011

President Obama told the EPA today to withdraw proposed air quality legislation, citing the need to reduce regulatory burdens on businesses as the economy continues to recover. The new ozone standards were favored by environmentalists but criticized by business groups and Republicans.

In the House of Representatives, Republicans had made standing in the way of the regulation a top legislative priority and billed it as a cornerstone of their jobs plan.

“I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover,” President Obama said in a statement. “With that in mind, and after careful consideration, I have requested that Administrator Jackson withdraw the draft Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards at this time. Work is already underway to update a 2006 review of the science that will result in the reconsideration of the ozone standard in 2013. Ultimately, I did not support asking state and local governments to begin implementing a new standard that will soon be reconsidered.”

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the president could take steps to “relieve businesses from burdensome regulations” as a measure to boost the economy immediately, without the need for legislative action.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/obama-withdraws-environmental-rules-citing-business-burden/


This Is President Obama's Full Statement:

Over the last two and half years, my administration, under the leadership of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, has taken some of the stOrongest actions since the enactment of the Clean Air Act four decades ago to protect our environment and the health of our families from air pollution. From reducing mercury and other toxic air pollution from outdated power plants to doubling the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks, the historic steps we’ve taken will save tens of thousands of lives each year, remove over a billion tons of pollution from our air, and produce hundreds of billions of dollars in benefits for the American people.

At the same time, I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover. With that in mind, and after careful consideration, I have requested that Administrator Jackson withdraw the draft Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards at this time. Work is already underway to update a 2006 review of the science that will result in the reconsideration of the ozone standard in 2013. Ultimately, I did not support asking state and local governments to begin implementing a new standard that will soon be reconsidered.

I want to be clear: my commitment and the commitment of my administration to protecting public health and the environment is unwavering. I will continue to stand with the hardworking men and women at the EPA as they strive every day to hold polluters accountable and protect our families from harmful pollution. And my administration will continue to vigorously oppose efforts to weaken EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act or dismantle the progress we have made.

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Obama Shelves EPA’s Ozone Restrictions
By: Jon Walker
September 2, 2011

The EPA was set to soon implement tough new regulations that would restrict the production of ozone. President Obama has decided to ignore the advice of his own EPA director, Lisa Jackson, and direct her to shelve the new standards for now.

The big winners are corporations that pollute. The big losers are individuals with respiratory problems, such as kids with asthma and those who live in urban environments. Research has find that people who live in areas with high levels of ozone, mainly big cities, are significantly more likely to die of lung cancer.

The other minor winner from this decision by Obama is the Republican’s economic framing. By using the GOP talking point of “regulatory uncertainty” to justify this decision, Obama is helping to re-enforce the Republican narrative that it is Obama’s flood of new regulation that is holding back the economy instead of a lack of demand.

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2011/09/02/obama-shelves-epas-ozone-restrictions/

[PDJane]

1. There won't be a world to have a business in

Or anything for it to be a burden on if this continues.

[blindpig]

2. 'The lesser of two evils'...

is looking less 'lesser' every day.

[LonePirate]

3. Can someone remind me if Obama was elected as Democrat or a Republican back in 2008?

I honestly cannot tell the difference between him and your typical Republican nowadays.

[mod mom]

4. Wow and I thought Clinton was bad (Glass-steagall, MFN status for China,

Telecom Act of '96...) I guess I won't be welcomed much longer on DU cuz it's time to find a replacement.

[Harmony Blue]

9. If this trend continues, then by definition Clinton will be

regarded more liberal than Obama. That to me is a surprise, as I always thought Obama was a bit more progressive than Clinton, but based on Presidential track record not so!

[digitaln3rd]

5. Meh, who needs the environment anyway.

At least the corporations are making record profits. They can buy a new planet to ruin.

[Better Believe It]

6. John Boehner welcomes President Obama's withdrawing EPA proposal.

Obama halts tighter smog rule, citing 'regulatory burdens'
Republicans wanted it shelved; critics see it as 'huge loss for public health'
September 2, 2011

Citing the financial burden in a struggling economy and after Republican protests, President Barack Obama on Friday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to shelve a proposal to tighten smog standards.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, welcomed the move. "This is certainly a good first step," said his spokesman, Michael Steel.

"The Obama administration is caving to big polluters at the expense of protecting the air we breathe," said Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters. "This is a huge win for corporate polluters and huge loss for public health."

"We have a president taking his cues from Eric Cantor," added Friends of the Earth director David Hirsch. "His decision will mean more children suffering from asthma and more permanent lung damage for adults."

[COLGATE4]

8. Don't worry - it's really 16-dimensional chess/rope-a-dope. Obama

has got them where he wants them.:banghead:

[Better Believe It]

10. We're winning the chess game! Wonder what it would be like if we were losing?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Yet another glorious achievement to add to The List.

[Rex]

11. I have a new pic I added for just such an occasion!