Recently, President Trump’s EPA chief, Scott Pruitt, halted implementation of some regulations designed to reduce greenhouse emissions in the energy industry, put into place by President Obama. Environmentalists challenged the moratorium and a federal appeals court ruled that the EPA does not have the authority to halt enforcement of their own rules.
This is not a matter of laws enacted by congress. The EPA is a regulatory agency. Their job is to set and enforce an agenda established by their current ruling party. They answer to a congressional committee and the president who selects the agency leader. Unlike laws enacted by congress, the EPA’s agenda is subject to change depending on who is in office.
Who is a federal court to tell them they can not decide not to enforce their own rules? Understandably, if they have a rule then they are expected to enforce it. If they do not wish to enforce it then they should change it.
In this case, Mr. Pruitt said they were not prepared to change the rule. They wanted more time to study the potential impact of enforcement before deciding whether to scrap or enforce.
Some may liken this to the (lack of) enforcement of federal law against marijuana. Under Obama the DEA slacked off and several states repealed state prohibition against marijuana. However; unlike the EPA, the DEA is a federal law enforcement agency. As A.G. Sessions pointed out, if states do not want him enforcing the law then congress must change the law.
Several issues are pitting states, citizens and federal agencies against one another on legal and ideological grounds. For near twenty years the Texas Nationalist Movement has warned of the coming earthquake. The TNM has sought to preserve Texas values. After November 2016 many Californians finally agreed with Texas that it is time we go our separate ways. Regardless of how any state finds themselves viewing the current turmoil there is one thing an increasing number of the American population agree on: secession. It’s time to #Texit y’all.
Tucker Carlson on California independence- https://youtu.be/Wc0Sdn-NPIE
In this article:EPA must enforce, featured, Jesse Newberry, Obama-era regulations, Scott Pruit, Trump Administration, U.S. Court of Appeals
Written By
Jesse Newberry
Native Texan raised in NE Texas. Husband. Father of six.
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