U.S. Chamber Calls For EPA Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Chamber of Commerce today expressed caution to Congress in its debate to elevate the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet-level status.

"Much of EPA's science has been inconsistent and sometimes even developed behind closed doors without public input," said Bill Kovacs, U.S. Chamber vice president of environmental policy. "Simple elevation of the agency without specific reforms, especially in the area of sound science and transparency, would be a big government disaster."

In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs, Kovacs discussed the past 30 years of environmental protection, EPA's organizational structure, and the need for the agency to base regulations on comprehensive, sound science.

Additionally, the Chamber supports a cooperative, intergovernment agency approach to developing guidelines and a methodology for all scientific study.

The Chamber is committed to using the highest level and quality of scientific data as the basis for the government regulatory process. To that end, it has recently hired a science advisor, Walter Shaub, who will help the Chamber's member companies meet the requirements of the recent data quality law, which calls for agencies and participants in the regulatory process to use science that has integrity, is objective, and is useful for making sound decisions.

Shaub also will ensure that members have the necessary resources to participate in agency rulemakings and other efforts that could impose new mandates on the business community.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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