Jason Smith: “If this election cycle has shown us anything, it is that the American people are tired of our officials in Washington…”

“If this election cycle has shown us anything, it is that the American people are tired of our officials in Washington, D.C., not listening to the voice of the people. They are tired of a Federal bureaucracy that is accountable to no one and operates in the shadows without proper oversight. The United States is facing a crisis of executive overreach, and nowhere else is this truer than at the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA's escalation of sue and settle cases to change the law through Federal Court rulings threatens to shut down American businesses. By operating hand in hand with radical environmentalist groups that are willing participants in the scam, the EPA's use of sue and settle not only endangers the economy, but also our constitutional separation of powers. According to a 2011 GAO report, between 1995 and 2010, three large environmental activist groups like the Sierra Club received almost $6 million in attorney fees alone. Under our amendment, no funds can be used to pay legal fees under any settlement regarding any case arising under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act, period. Litigants can still sue, but they will no longer be financially rewarded by the American taxpayer for their efforts. I am hopeful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support this amendment to reduce the secretive transfer of U.S. tax dollars to private self-interest groups.…”