House Passes TRAIN Act: A Step in the Right Direction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kaitlyn Buss
Phone: 202-742-8526
Email: kbuss@alec.org

House Passes TRAIN Act:  A Step in the Right Direction

Washington, D.C.—  (Sept. 26, 2011) The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) applauds the passage of H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act, or TRAIN Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives. With strong bipartisan support the House approved legislation last Friday that would thoroughly assess the consequences of federal EPA regulations before moving forward.

The TRAIN Act, introduced by Reps. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and John Sullivan (R-OK), would create a federal interagency committee, led by the Commerce Department, to conduct cost-benefit analyses of 10 EPA regulations. The committee would be required to fully assess how these regulations impact energy prices, electric reliability, jobs and the nation’s global competitiveness.

“Friday’s passage of the TRAIN act is a step in the right direction towards standing up against one of the most onerous attacks on our standard of living in this country,” said Todd Wynn, ALEC’s Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force Director. “As unemployment still hovers around 9 percent, it is imperative to fully assess the impact on the electricity prices, reliability and the overall American economy.”

In February 2011, ALEC published EPA’s Regulatory Trainwreck: Strategies for State Legislators. This report laid the groundwork for engaging policymakers across the country on the EPA’s most hostile regulatory assaults on energy affordability and reliability.

The report called on state legislators to adopt a resolution opposing EPA’s Regulatory Train Wreck. This resolution was introduced in a number of states across the nation and was adopted by Wyoming and Indiana in early 2011. In addition to imposing moratoriums on new air quality standards for two years and calling for a prohibition on EPA regulation of greenhouse gases, the resolution calls on Congress to require the administration to undertake a multi-agency study identifying all EPA regulatory activity and the cumulative effect on the economy, jobs and American competitiveness.

The bill passed with an amendment from the Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY) that would delay two of the more costly EPA rules; the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and a rule on power plant emissions of mercury. Some public officials and utilities have said these rules could force significant shutdowns of power plants and impact electricity reliability.

ALEC’s EPA’s Regulatory Trainwreck: Strategies for State Legislators is available at alec.org.

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The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the nation’s largest nonpartisan individual membership association of state legislators, with nearly 2,000 state legislators across the nation and more than 100 alumni members in Congress. ALEC’s mission is to promote free markets, individual liberty, and federalism through its model legislation in the states.