Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee hearing titled “EPA’s RMP Rule: Failures to Protect the American People and American Manufacturing.” 

"The United States has long led the world in innovation and entrepreneurship, while continuing to maintain some of the highest environmental and labor standards in the world. 

“This leadership has not been the result of a top-down, government-knows-best system. 

“It’s the result of free market principles, and an entrepreneurial spirit that’s uniquely American. 

“Our energy resources have enabled America to reduce emissions more than any other nation. 

“This is a legacy we should be proud of and build off. 

“Energy and Commerce Republicans have been working hard to do just that by advancing smart policies that protect and expand American leadership for generations to come.” 

BIDEN’S RADICAL AGENDA 

“The Biden administration, on the other hand, has been advancing policies that threaten this legacy. 

“These actions are putting America on a dangerous path, they’re driving up inflation, killing manufacturing, and handing control of our future to China. 

“The EPA has been at the center of this agenda. 

“At a time when more than half the nation is at elevated risk of forced blackouts, the EPA has been finalizing new power plant rules that will shut down the types of electric generation needed to keep the lights on. 

“Policies like their new PM2.5 standards will jeopardize manufacturing and jobs across the country.  

“There are a hundred more examples of harmful policies and regulations like these coming out of President Biden’s EPA. 

“When taken together these efforts will raise prices for Americans and open the door for China to replace American production and further pollute the environment.” 

EPA’S RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (RMP) RULE 

“Today, the Subcommittee will explore yet another one of these harmful regulations—the EPA rule that will massively expand Risk Management Plan (RMP) program requirements.

“The truth is, everyone in this room wants American factories that operate responsibly and that ensure communities across the country are safe.

“We also want those same communities to thrive and for people to have access to good, reliable jobs.

“Under the RMP rules, we’ve seen a significant decrease in accidents over the last two decades.

"EPA’s own data suggests that there was a 70 percent reduction in annual reported incidents between 2004 and 2020, and 97 percent of RMP-regulated facilities reported no accidents at all between 2016 and 2020. 

“But this new RMP rule from the Biden EPA will force American manufacturers out of business or force them to move their operations overseas. 

“If the rule itself wasn’t bad enough, President Biden’s EPA limited the comment period, preventing the public and the businesses impacted from being able to weigh in. 

“Today we will pull the curtains back and learn more about the risks of this new rule.” 

CONSEQUENCES OF THE RMP RULE 

“The Clean Air Act requires RMP rules be ‘reasonable.’ 

“As we will discuss today, the EPA’s new rule fails to meet that simple requirement. 

“Instead, this rule will raise gas prices for people across the country—which have already increased an average of 57 cents this year.  

“According to AAA, gas prices have increased $1.25 nationwide since Biden took office. In my home state of Washington, the increase has been even greater. 

“This new rule will only add to the pain Americans are already feeling at the pump, as we head into the peak summer travel season. 

“The costs of essential goods and services will also rise as a result of the changes to RMP. 

“It will harm small and medium sized refineries, who will be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to comply. 

“These impacted refineries account for 40 percent of existing and operating U.S. refining capacity.

“Water utilities, manufacturers, agricultural retailers, pulp and paper producers, cold storage warehouses all could be forced to spend significant amounts of money to comply, or face shut down.

“Instead of undermining American economic success, let’s work together to build on our remarkable legacy by embracing America’s tradition of balancing economic and environmental leadership, which will help lowers costs for Americans, create jobs, and prevent us from becoming reliant on China.”