Denny Rehberg: “For thousands of Montana small businesses, Earth Day was just one more example of how out of touch Washington…”

“For thousands of Montana small businesses, Earth Day was just one more example of how out of touch Washington bureaucrats can be. The EPA chose Earth Day as the deadline for its new rule, the lead rule. Every contractor in Montana needed to take a training course from an EPA-certified instructor in order to work on any older building that contained lead. The trouble is Montana only has one teacher for all of our 147,000 square miles, and the EPA gave us less than 1 year to do it. Everyone wants to make sure that lead is handled safely. But at a time when contractors are hurting from an economic downturn, we don't need to add Federal bungling to the list of challenges. I introduced H.R. 5177 to extend the EPA deadline and give these small businesses room to breathe. Please join me in cosponsoring this bill. Our contractors are already suffering without the EPA coming after them.”