Democratic senators and governors did not say whether they support or oppose the Biden administration's latest air quality regulations, despite the policy's potential to harm the state.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Confirmed Updates to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter PM2.5 impose tougher restrictions despite warnings from industry executives, energy policy experts, and elected officials to strengthen NAAQS. This could cause a severe blow to the American economy. Although some states will have a harder time than others to fully comply with the enhanced standards, many Democratic elected officials in these states are willing to approve the EPA's new regulations. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The EPA predicts that California will likely have the hardest time achieving full compliance with the rule. A spokesperson for Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom referred DCNF to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) when asked if Newsom himself supported the policy.
Democratic California Sen. LaFonza Butler's office did not respond to multiple requests for comment. California's other Democratic senator, Alex Padilla, did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. told E&E News NAAQS' new standards “are not quite where we expected them to be, but I think they're a big step in the grand scheme of things,” he said, suggesting the EPA should have gone further.
The agency's new rules reduce the annual PM2.5 standard from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or about 25%. The EPA claims the revised rules will prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost work days, with net medical benefits of up to $46 billion in 2032. However, the National Association of Manufacturers strongly opposes updating NAAQS. To tell The regulation could threaten up to nearly $200 billion in economic activity and 973,000 jobs. (Related: Scott Pruitt plans to propose regulations to keep 'secret science' out of EPA)
EPA doesn't seem to care about using real world data https://t.co/wYOSnvjlzP
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 22, 2023
However, strengthening PM2.5 NAAQS “could dramatically create false disincentives for U.S. investment.” Because “even in areas that would meet EPA's proposed standard, current background levels of PM2.5 are very close to the proposed standard, leaving no room for new economic development.” ” said an October 2023 letter to White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, signed by more than 70 industry executives and industry association representatives. According to the text of the letter, the states most likely to be adversely affected by the final PM 2.5 NAAQS update are Texas, California, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, and Illinois. It is said that it will become a state.
The offices of Democratic Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock did not immediately respond to inquiries about their positions on the regulation. Similarly, Pennsylvania Democratic Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey withdrew from multiple investigations, as did Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The offices of Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who typically caucuses with Democrats, did not respond to several requests to clarify their positions on the new NAAQS. Ta. So did the office of Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Representatives for Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker did not respond to several inquiries about his position on the regulations. So is the office of Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who is up for re-election in a runoff later this year. There were several similar inquiries, but no responses were received.
In particular, the EPA data shows that the seasonally adjusted national average PM 2.5 concentration decreased by 42% between 2000 and 2022, while America's GDP increased by more than 50% during that time.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
