Disapproving a Rule Submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency Relating to the Mitigation by States of Cross-Border Air Pollution Under the Clean Air Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I stand in support of this resolution. I do so for the following reason. Article I, section 1 of the Constitution makes abundantly clear that the legislative power of the United States shall be vested in Congress, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Legislative power is the power to make rules carrying the force of generally applicable law--in this instance, generally applicable Federal law. It was with wise reason that our Founding Fathers entrusted this power to those people entrusted by the citizens of the respective States for a limited time to make law because they understood that those who have the power to make law have the power to infringe on the individual liberties of the American people, such that whenever they exceed those powers, they can be held accountable to those they represent and on whose behalf they will be legislating.

Every single time we act, we have an effect on the American people. We need to be held accountable at regular intervals for those decisions--every 6 years in the case of Senators, every 2 years in the case of Members of the House of Representatives.

Occasionally, Congress has chosen to delegate that power. For instance, Congress might say we hereby enact the Clean Air Act and give power to the EPA to implement rules and enforce those rules, to make sure we have clean air. To the extent that we do that, particularly where the EPA or some other agency acts in a way that might have a very significant impact on our economy, I think we are selling the American people short of their birthright, which is the guarantee that laws will not be made on their behalf, particularly significant ones such as the one we are addressing today, without those who voted for them being held accountable.

There are great people at the EPA, as there are in every branch and office of our Federal Government. But it is only those people in Congress who are constitutionally authorized to make generally applicable Federal law. It is only these people who stand at regular intervals for reelection, accountable to their people. This is what the Congressional Review Act does. This is why this approach, this resolution under the Congressional Review Act, is so important.

I have heard some of my colleagues suggest this somehow represents an attempt to circumvent the normal legislative process. What I am saying is, this is the normal legislative process. When we are looking at a rule that by the EPA's own estimates could cost as many 3,000 energy sector jobs and could cost the American people $2.4 billion in compliance costs annually, we need to look seriously at the fact that we need to hold ourselves accountable.

If this rule is a good idea, if in fact this is necessary to protect the American people, if in fact the benefits of this outweigh the costs, then we should be confident. We should be comfortable discussing it, debating it, and passing it into law. That is what we are doing.

I am supporting this resolution because I support the legislative process envisioned and mandated by the Constitution, and I urge each of my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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