Griffith Bill FIghts for Jobs in GIles County

Statement

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) released the following statement regarding a Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing today focused on H.R. 2250, the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011, and H.R. 2681, the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011. Congressman Griffith is the sponsor of H.R. 2250, which would give the EPA time to create achievable rules for industrial boilers and give facilities more time to comply with the rules.

"Real jobs are on the line in Giles County. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) pending Boiler MACT rules are threatening thousands of jobs nationwide, including some in the 9th District. In today's Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing, Todd Elliott of the Celanese Corporation testified that the Boiler MACT rules, as written, could force Celanese to significantly scale back or change operations in Giles County. The pending Boiler MACT rules would provide three years to comply with new regulations. As requested by many businesses, including Celanese, the EPA Regulatory Relief Act extends that compliance time to at least five years.

"I introduced H.R. 2250, the EPA Regulatory Relief Act, to fix a problem in the federal government while protecting valuable jobs. Giles County is already facing job losses resulting from EPA regulations on coal-fired power plants. We all recognize the need for reasonable regulations, but unreasonable regulations discourage business owners from expanding and investing in our economy. I am trying to do what my constituents want and what I think my constituents need in order to protect and create jobs in the 9th District of Virginia. That is what the EPA Regulatory Relief Act does."

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