I should be analyzing Governor Daugaard's budget proposal instead of chasing Republicans chasing bogeymen. (CenturyLink had an Internet outage for over six hours yesterday afternoon and evening; Steve! Fix it!) Stay tuned: I'll watch the video and offer some thoughts soon!
But alongside Rep. Lora Hubbel's crusade against black helicopter homing devices, we have the pleasure of seeing Rep. Kristi Noem's crusade against imaginary regulations advance to the House floor tomorrow. Alas, Noem has found Dems silly enough to fall for this anti-regulatory charade as well.
Below is the press burble from spokesboy Josh Shields. But remember as you read it that Noem's dust bill is a myth-based sham, a literal smokescreen whose real intent is to exempt her big industry pals and donors from important environmental regulations.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Joshua Shields
December 5, 2011 202.225.2801Noem Dust Bill Heads to the House Floor on Thursday
Momentum Continues as Democrat Sen. McCaskill Introduces Companion Legislation
WASHINGTON, DC- According to U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) on Thursday the House will take up a bill sponsored by Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) to prohibit any further regulation of rural dust by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The bipartisan bill, H.R. 1633, was approved by the House Energy & Commerce Committee last week.
"Farmers and ranchers, like most businesses, desperately want more certainty when it comes to regulation and taxation. It's nearly impossible to make business decisions a couple years out when you don't know if the EPA, or some other Washington bureaucracy, will regulate away your profit margin with a single, ridiculous new regulation. That's why there is a growing consensus behind this common sense bill," said Noem. "This bipartisan bill reins in a regulator that too many farmers and ranchers fear will go wild without additional constraints."
Noem's bill, which is expected to pass the House, would exclude farm dust that is regulated at the state or local level from federal standards. If there are no state or local regulations in place, the EPA can step in if they find that there are adverse health effects associated with rural dust and that the economic benefits outweigh the cost in the local communities. There is nothing on the books today that would prohibit the EPA from further regulating farm dust at some point in the future.
If the House approves the measure, it will then head to the Senate where Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) recently introduced a companion bill.
For more information, read Rep. Noem's testimony on the bill before the House Energy & Commerce Committee.
Dangers of dust from agriculture have been known for centuries. A discussion of the health risks in a 21st century House of Representatives might be overdue:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1637665/pdf/envhper00313-0060.pdf
EPA: don't back down to the earth haters like Kristi Noem.
"Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said Wednesday that he was filing a bill to block the European Union from requiring airlines operating in its countries to trade emissions."
http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/aviation/197939-sen-thune-files-bill-to-block-eu-emissions-trading-for-airlines
If EPA head Lisa Jackson said she has no intention to tighten dust rules "at this time" why give her the chance? This is a fantastic bill by Noem and I'm proud of her.
"Fantastic" as in "based on fantasy." This bill creates no jobs. It undermines the Clean Air Act, which has produced significant economic benefits. Noem's dust bill is Exhibit #1 in why she is an embarrassment to South Dakota.
Noem has created a solution when there wasn't a problem. She's trying to build up her resume before the election because she has no resume. I only hope the people of South Dakota will see this for what it is.
I see it, Owen. More than a few Republicans see it, too, but they're stuck with a cowgirl who's all boots and no beef.