Congressman Doug Collins: Statement on Supreme Court ruling on EPA Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule

Statement

Congressman Doug Collins made the following statement regarding Monday's Supreme Court ruling on the EPA Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule:

"Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled against the EPA Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule, remanding it back to a lower court for review. This is a victory for those who fight government overreach and inefficiency. The EPA failed to consider the economic costs of this rule, primarily because it was promulgated outside the rulemaking process, behind closed doors. This type of regulation is especially harmful to Americans, which is why I introduced H.R. 712, the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act, to prevent back door regulating."

"There is a growing problem in regulatory litigation known as "sue-and-settle." In sue-and-settle cases, pro-regulatory plaintiffs sue agencies that may be disposed to regulate, but have delayed in doing so. The litigation is typically resolved by a consent decree or settlement agreement that is negotiated in private. It is through one of these consent decrees that this rule came about with no public participation or input from those impacted by this costly rule. H.R. 712 curtails the sue-and-settle practice by increasing transparency and judicial scrutiny of sue-and-settle decrees and settlements. It will restore balance to a system that was supposed to give fair treatment to those affected by regulations, and assure that sue-and-settle proceedings follow proper rulemaking procedure."

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