Earlier today that House Energy and Commerce Committee to an important step in reining in the Environmental Protection Agency’s aggressive agenda by passing two bills on Boiler MACT and Cement MACT regulations. The EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 and the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 would stay the rules, give the EPA an additional 15 months to re-propose the rules, extend the compliance time frame from three to five years, and ensure that the new regulations are achievable in practice.

The EPA Regulatory Relief Act was approved by a vote of 36-14 and the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 was approved by a vote of 33-12.

The Boiler MACT and Cement MACT regulations are causing a great deal of uncertainty for manufacturers that will cost jobs and stifle economic growth. We hope that these bills will make it to the House floor in the coming weeks for a vote.