February 27, 2017

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced three bills that would limit the regulatory power of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on February 27.

The ORDEAL Act of 2017 (S.452) amends the Clean Air Act to delay implementation of national air quality standards for ozone until 2025. The measure would also change the requirement for review of ozone standards from five-year intervals to ten-year intervals.

The Agency PAYGO for Greenhouse Gases Act (S.453) requires the EPA to include an offset from funds within the EPA budget for any proposed rule that limits greenhouse gas emissions and imposes increased costs on other federal agencies.

The Commonsense Legislative Exceptional Events Reforms Act of 2017 (S.454) amends the Clean Air Act to set a 90-day deadline for approval or disapproval of an exceptional event demonstration request. If the EPA does not come to a decision within 90 days, the request will be considered approved.

All three bills are being reviewed by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Source: Congress.gov, EPA.gov