Friday, September 2, 2011

Obama Pulls Back Proposal to Tighten Clean Air Rules - Reader Comments

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is abandoning its plan to immediately tighten air-quality rules nationwide to reduce emissions of smog-causing chemicals after an intense lobbying campaign by industry, which said the new rule would cost billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs, officials said Friday.       

The White House announcement that it was overruling the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to adopt a stricter standard for ground-level ozone came just hours after another dismal jobs reports and in the midst of an intensifying political debate over the impact of federal regulations on job creation. The president is planning a major address next week on new measures to stimulate employment, while Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail have harshly criticized the administration’s environmental and health regulations, which they claim are forcing layoffs and the export of jobs.

The E.P.A. following the recommendation of its scientific advisers, had proposed lowering the so-called ozone standard from that set by the Bush administration to a new stricter standard that would have thrown hundreds of American counties out of compliance with the Clean Air Act. It would have required a major effort by state and local officials, as well as new emissions controls by industries and across the country.


A few comments

9.
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Judy B
Belgrade ME
September 2nd, 2011
11:34 am
Earth to Obama: No matter how much you cave into the demands of these groups, they will never, ever vote for you. And by doing so, you are losing the support of those who put you in your job in 2008. You need them in order to win again. Why is it that the Republicans understand that you cannot alienate your core supporters and you do not?
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Steve
NYC
September 2nd, 2011
11:35 am
I never thought I would say this, but it's time for President Obama to do a 1968 LBJ and announce that he will not run for re-election. If he continues to represent Republican interests, he should open the door for Democrats to choose a candidate who represents them, rather than the opposing party.
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Marvin W.
Raleigh, NC
September 2nd, 2011
11:45 am
How many people will develop breathing problems and lung disease between now and 2013? Thousands upon thousands of people will develop health problems because of a lack of action by the President and the federal government relative to air pollution. Of course we need jobs but not at the expense of people's health. President Obama has done some good things for the environment in the face of continued Republican obstructionism but he must stop caving in to Republican demands and stand up for the things he believes in. My father always told me "in life the first thing you must take care of is your health". I am sorry that this country has just taken another step backward from that statement.
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larry2403
Chicago, IL
September 2nd, 2011
11:50 am
What else can he cave in on? The problem is he is running a campaign and not the country. The President should do just the opposite and explain that this is why we want government, to protect our drinking water and air supply. Safe food, water, and environmental concerns are the job of the Federal Government. Rather than pandering to the Rick Perry voters he needs to explain the roll and benefits of the Federal government. These storms are a sign of global warming, they are not a sign from God. No jobs are lost because of these regulations and the argument that they are is a myth. A recent poll of economist found that the regulatory framework of the United States is not prohibitive. I do not know one business owner who has not expanded his business because of the EPA, the lack of expansion is because they fear they will not have sales, it is not fear of regulation.
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RCB
Sav, Ga
September 2nd, 2011
11:58 am
I thought clean energy and clean business was also more profitable. Another Democratic "win/win situation"? or, as Mr. Obama used to be fond of saying, choosing between the environment and profits is a false choice. Well, never let it be said that I was not grateful for the day of small beginnings. But if regulation does cost jobs, this should just be the small start of bigger things to come.
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Libertaria
September 2nd, 2011
11:59 am
He stopped deporting illegals last month.
He has stopped regulations that harm business this month.

Isn't it obvious to those Obamites, that the only job he cares about is his own.

Obama has performed a miracle. After the failed Presidency of George Bush I thought that it would take a decade for the Republicans to gain control of the Federal Government. But Obama has managed to have a Republican House elected last year and it is all but assured there will be a Republican Senate in 2012. But,I would have thought it impossible for the Republicans to win the Presidency in 2012. Not anymore. The combination of failure and feebleness has made the Republicans the favorite.

As a Libertarian, all I can say is.
"Mission accomplished". Progressive philosophy is discredited.
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Dallas
September 2nd, 2011
12:18 pm
Another victory for President Boehner.
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Sam D
Wayne, PA
September 2nd, 2011
12:18 pm
Obama needs to start thinking of Republicans as if they were all Hillary Clinton trying to defeat him in the primaries.
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Rockcliffe Park, CANADA
September 2nd, 2011
12:20 pm
What an enormous disappointment. We the naive and optimistic, invested so much hope in this man. He has disappointed and betrayed us. I reluctantly give up on him. In his freshman days as a Washington politician, he read a lot of FDR's writings. But he is no Roosevelt. Does not have the backbone, the ethics, nor the moral fiber. Pity.

C. ALEXANDER BROWN
JCG
Greene County, PA
September 2nd, 2011
12:21 pm
This is so sad. Why is Obama caving on every single environmental and social issue? I live in SW Pennsylvania where we feel the full brunt of dirty air...mostly from mining and burning coal. Are our concerns not heard because we have asthma and lung cancer and cannot raise our voices, or because our voices are not amplified by lots of money from the likes of Massey Energy?
MC
California
September 2nd, 2011
12:22 pm
Mr. President,
It is very distressing to see the back downs and the cave ins day after day.
Whatever implications it may have on you personally, it is all the more disheartening to see the Office of the President being degraded.
You are the commander in chief of our troops. Please take some heed from them and learn to fight your own battles.
Else, step aside and let others take the hot seat.

Maybe you do not have to look as far back as Abe Lincoln for a role model. Perhaps an LBJ would be more fitting in your situation, when he stepped aside for a job he no more felt connected to.

Note to myself: Next time I vote for a rookie, I will keep my irrational enthusiasm in check and first count how many "present" votes that candidate has voted.
Paul
NH
September 2nd, 2011
1:07 pm
I guess Obama is finally seeing the electoral storm clouds on the horizon.

Some posters here are asking things like 'when is he going to stand up for what he believes?'.

Once you figure out that the only thing Obama cares about or believes in is the re-election of Obama, then all his recent actions make perfect sense.
New Jersey
September 2nd, 2011
1:12 pm
To all commenters who think that corporations would willing spend money to hire people to see that their company was not offending any antipollution standards I say, "are you kidding me?" They haven't spent a dime of their profits to create jobs for Americans up to now, even with that debt crisis; just what makes you think they will bend if President Obama continued to insist that they comply with those regulations? If forced to spend money to upgrade their antipollution systems they will have all the more reason to eliminate jobs. You are damning the president if he does and if he does not. And to those who think the president doesn't care about their respiratory health, did you notice how many supporters he had for his healthcare bill? We should all be adults here and realize you can't have it all.
John Townsend
Mexico
September 2nd, 2011
2:09 pm
re ‘Earth to Obama: No matter how much you cave into the demands of these groups, they will never, ever vote for you. “ msg#9 (Judy)
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Earth to Judy. No matter how much Obama tries to compromise or whatever he proposes, the house approves and enacts legislation. Clearly he’s realist and understands that the house is controlled by the GOP who were put there by an electorate in 2010 on the message to make Obama fail, and they are hell-bent to do so, no question. They are recklessly and doggedly pursuing this aim, regardless of the mandate Obama got when he was elected. He is powerless to do anything about it. This is after all how democracy works in america where the people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
stan sinberg
california
September 2nd, 2011
2:16 pm

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