On the recordFebruary 6, 2012
Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor to discuss an important action this Congress can take to protect manufacturing jobs and strengthen our economy. Specifically, I encourage Senate conferees on the payroll tax bill to include projobs bipartisan language--such as H.R. 2250 or S. 1392--that would address the EPA's proposed rule on maximum achievable control technology standards for boilers, also known as boiler MACT. Fixing boiler MACT is important because if the EPA gets it wrong, it will cost tens of thousands of good-paying blue-collar manufacturing jobs. These regulations will be one more unnecessary weight dragging down our economy and making life harder for low- and middle-income families. Fixing boiler MACT is important also because Congress should provide clarity and certainty to the rulemaking process. The process has been plagued by complications, administrative stays, court orders, and numerous other stops and starts. For example, employers spent hundreds of millions working to comply with the 2004 boiler MACT rules only to be told they must now spend billions more. The boiler MACT legislation should be included in the payroll tax relief legislation which is intended to provide some help to our sluggish economy by allowing Americans to keep a little more of the money they earn.…





