IECA president sends letter of support for HR 712 to Collins

Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) President Paul N. Cicio recently sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to show his organizations’ support for the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2015, or HR 712.

”The legislation would take important steps to stop the abusive practice known as 'sue and settle' and give the public and affected parties a greater ability to know about potential rulemakings and to participate,” the letter said. “The bill would help Congress to reassert control over federal regulatory agency actions that have become opaque, unaccountable, and often unfair. Congress must perform its critical role as overseer of the federal agencies.”

The IECA represents manufacturers that boast a collective 1.4 employees and $1 trillion in sales each year, encompassing a wide range of industries. In his letter, Cicio says that the results of unnecessary litigation and EPA regulations is decreased capacity for American manufacturers.

“Mounting EPA regulatory costs and abuse of the legal system through actions such as 'sue and settle' have made it very difficult for manufacturing companies to compete with global competitors, thereby impacting U.S. jobs,” the letter said. “For example, while China’s manufacturing jobs have increased by 31.5 percent since 2000, U.S. manufacturing jobs have declined by 21.6 percent.”