President of the AFPM, Charles T. Drevna, made the following statement on a report commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) that looks at the impact of a stricter National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ground level ozone likely to be proposed in December by the Environmental Protection Agency.
‘EPA’s proposal threatens to be the most expensive regulation in US history, rendering a potential death blow to the American economy and to working families who are hardest hit by senseless regulations. The NAM report confirms what other studies have shown, that if enacted, the standard will lead to millions of jobs lost and to cost US business hundreds of billions of dollars every year; likely ending our nation’s manufacturing renaissance. At the same time, lowering the current ozone NAAQS would do very little to improve the environment. The US has reduced ozone levels by more than 30% since 1980. That trend will continue without lowering the current standard as counties and states across the nation continue to implement the current standard. This is just another example of an all cost, little to no benefit regulation that will have a disproportionately adverse impact on the poor and middle class.’
Adapated by Claira Lloyd