Reigning in the EPA

This week, the House is expected to vote on two common sense bills to make the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) more accountable and transparent. Under the Obama Administration, our West Texas farmers, ranchers, and small business owners have been the target of some of the EPA’s most misguided regulatory assault and overreach.

All the more troubling, the science used by the EPA to implement new regulations lacks transparency, is limited to the public, and includes little Congressional oversight. To address this, the House will vote on the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act to ensure the EPA’s Science Advisory Board operates in a politically-neutral and more transparent manner.

The House is also expected to vote on the Secret Science Reform Act of 2015. This bill requires the EPA to base its regulations on science that is publicly available and sufficient for independent analysis. I am proud to cosponsor both of these bills to bring some much-needed transparency and accountability to the EPA.