Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Environmental Protection Agency Relating to ``Review of Final Rule Reclassification of Major Sources As Area Sources Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act''

Floor Speech

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us today addresses a key issue created in the Biden-Harris administration that harms American businesses and actually disincentivizes investment to reduce pollution.

This was originally created during the Clinton administration. It was the ``once in, always in'' rule that penalized job creators and energy producers who took steps to invest in new technologies that lowered pollution.

If your emissions are at such a level you become a major source, once in under this rule that we are overturning today, you are always a major source, no matter what you do with your businesses. If you lower emissions, if you lower standards, you put in new equipment, you do operating hours differently, you do whatever you can to lower your emissions, you can't go back to being an area source and regulated with a level of emissions. Once you cross the threshold, no matter what you do, you stay listed as a major source pollutant.

We believe it disincentivizes companies from trying to lower their standard, and that is what we want to do. It is a disincentive. It is counterintuitive for what is trying to be done with the rule. We want lowered emissions, and we want to incentivize businesses to get there.

In the last Congress, I was proud to lead the legislation to overturn this burdensome regulation, which is a one-way ratchet that creates a disincentive for businesses to take steps to reduce their emissions.

By passing this resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, we are working to unleash American energy and ensuring that every dollar that is invested in our economy is focused on jobs, growth, and innovation, not siphoned off for unworkable compliance created by government red tape.

I thank Congresswoman Fedorchak for leading this resolution, and I thank my friend from Texas for yielding.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

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