On the recordMarch 15, 2011
the reason we did not pass this legislation is everyone realized it would have raised the cost of gasoline. Now the EPA is trying to do the same thing by fiat. By executive fiat, they are trying to regulate greenhouse gases. What they are going to do is raise the cost of fuel at a time when people are suffering at the pump. I mentioned earlier that I filled up my pickup truck last weekend. It was almost $50. I know every American is having the same experience. If they have an SUV, it is even more. We cannot allow the EPA, through greenhouse gas regulations, to increase the cost of fuel when they put that regulation on a refinery. We have very few refineries. We have not built a new refinery in this country since 1973 because it is so regulated, so that we really have a shortage of refineries. It is one of the problems with the supply issue in providing gasoline at reasonable prices. We need to be stepping back, not stepping forward with more regulations. The EPA is doing something Congress would not do. Oddly, the EPA is not authorized to make regulations that Congress does not pass. They are to implement the law, not make it. But that is what they are doing, and we are trying to stop it with the McConnell amendment that would repeal the EPA greenhouse gas regulations. I hope my colleagues will support it. In addition, as a former small businessperson myself, I know it is very hard for small businesses to make ends meet.
