Rep. Graves Update: Yes Votes for EPA Reform Bills

From the Office of U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, who represents Paulding County

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA-14) voted in favor of the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act (H.R. 1029) and the Secret Science Reform Act (H.R. 1030), legislation that would help reign in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s continual overreach.

“When the EPA uses secret science and one-sided debate to justify unnecessary regulations, it has real life consequences for hard-working Americans across the country. Jobs are lost, utility bills skyrocket and it costs more to feed the family,” said Rep. Graves. “These common sense reforms will help protect the American people from the consequences of EPA overreach.”

Tracy Hawkins, Director of Air Quality for Georgia Power and former Plant Manager of Plant Hammond in Rome, Ga., said: “Our state’s energy providers need full transparency when it comes to environmental rules under which we develop energy sources for the future. It is a requirement of good national energy policy.”

H.R. 1029 would increase transparency and give the public a greater say in the EPA’s Science Advisory Board, which reviews the science used to justify the agency’s regulatory decisions. Specifically, the bill expands opportunities for public participation and comment, changes the composition of the board to reduce conflicts of interest, and requires that any uncertainty in scientific findings is communicated.

H.R. 1030 would require that data from scientific studies used by the EPA to create regulations is publically available. This would allow independent experts and the public to have access to the data, who would then have the ability to validate results.

Both bills passed the House of Representatives.