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Promoting New Manufacturing Act

Floor Speech

By: Al Green
By: Al Green
Date: Nov. 20, 2014
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Industries Environment

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Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. I thank my colleague from Kentucky for yielding to me.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4795. It was my hope to resolve the issues of this bill during the committee. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

H.R. 4795, the Promoting New Manufacturing Act, could be a solution to a longstanding problem. The problem relates to Federal permitting, in this case, New Source Review permits.

While the majority of permitting takes place at the State level, the EPA plays a critical role in the permitting process. When EPA promulgates a final National Ambient Air Quality Standard, called NAAQS, States and industry must respond through implementation and application, respectively.

EPA should work as quickly as possible to offer States guidance on how to implement these new standards. Lack of guidance can lead to significant permitting delays as industry is forced to submit incomplete New Source Review applications.

While I will support the intent of the bill, I can't support the bill itself. H.R. 4795 is ultimately a lengthy delay in the National Ambient Air Quality Standards implementation; and then a NAAQS standard cannot be implemented, and this bill does not reflect current negotiations over that NAAQS implementation.

Until this point, the administration and the EPA have indicated a willingness to work on this issue. Further, EPA has not proposed these new National Ambient Air Quality Standards, so I see this bill as a solution to a problem that doesn't yet exist.

I want EPA to be transparent and work with the industry, and H.R. 4795 does not support a collaborative working relationship.

Additionally, the New Source Review permitting and the construction of new facilities are important to the economy, but we must also have a balance between economic growth and the protection of public health. The bill, unfortunately, does not strike that balance effectively, and, for that reason, I am unable to vote in favor of it.

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