McCarthy Statement on Administration’s Ozone Regulation

Washington, DC – House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) issued the following statement on the Obama administration’s latest proposed ozone regulation: 

“It should come as no surprise the Administration has delivered its latest regulatory overreach the day before Thanksgiving, when millions of Americans turn their attention to spending time with family and friends. The President himself has acknowledged this regulation could go against the will of the American people when he pulled the plug on a similar proposal in 2011. Then, the President said the rule would be too burdensome and costly during a time of economic distress. It is hard to see how the economic conditions the President cited a few years ago are much different than today. And it is even more troubling to see the cynicism of electoral convenience placed ahead of the well-being of our communities.

“For communities like those in California’s Central Valley, clean air and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. Over decades, ingenuity and efforts by our families and businesses to reduce emissions have delivered cleaner air year over year. In Kern County – where topography can trap smog blown in from larger cities – the cleanest year of air on record was recorded last year. But despite this progress, the Administration is now kicking the ladder out from underneath us and is moving forward with regulations that are simply unfeasible to meet with technology available today. This will lead to costly fines on our communities that will ultimately be passed along to our businesses and families. 

“Should the President ignore his own cautionary words from 2011 and press on with this harmful regulation, the House will conduct aggressive oversight and use the proper legislative approach to continue to promote cleaning the air we breathe while ensuring our communities are not burdened with unrealistic regulations.”