ALFRED J. LECHNER, JR. – 10/07/2016
Federal regulation is the American economy’s silent killer. Every day, the vast bureaucracy in D.C. issues reams of red tape that stifle the creation of new jobs or snuff out good-paying jobs that already exist.
That is why my organization, Cause of Action Institute, has formally petitioned one of the most regulation-happy federal agencies — the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — to fulfill its statutory requirement to investigate the careers and opportunities it has crushed.
The Clean Air Act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963, contains a little-known provision that enables individuals who have lost their jobs to ask the EPA to examine whether its regulatory actions were at fault. Upon receiving such requests, the agency must conduct an investigation and potentially hold public hearings. Congress specifically included this requirement to better gauge the impact of EPA regulations on the American job market.
Unfortunately, 50 years after the Act’s passage, the EPA has still not set up this process, much less given it teeth. As a result, Americans who wish to request an investigation have no idea where to start; this undoubtedly dissuades many from trying.
Equally concerning, the agency has failed to establish any rules to guide its actions. This enables the EPA to tilt the few investigations it does undertake in its own favor — or ignore requests entirely. [Read More…]
