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December 23, 2014
The U.S. House of Representatives Majority Whip told local business leaders that he will press a fight against federal regulators who issue what he sees as unreasonable constraints on commerce.
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, told members of the South Central Industrial Association last Tuesday he will support ongoing efforts to thwart executive branch development of regulations that should be the purview of the legislative branch, and reiterated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is one of his main targets.
“Anybody who’s been following policies … coming out of the EPA knows it’s probably the most destructive agency to jobs in America,” Scalise said during a luncheon at the Marriott Courtyard in Houma.
SCIA Executive Director Jane Arnette said Scalise’s 17-minute speech, which covered a range of topics concerning the GOP agenda for the new Congress that will sit in 2015, projected the most resonance for local industry when the topic of the EPA was mentioned.
“That’s going to be very, very important, that our delegation works together on the EPA issues,” Arnette later said. “That is going to affect all of us greatly, and we need to ensure that things are being done properly. I believe that Steve will be a champion of that.”
Scalise, whose 1st Congressional District includes portions of southern Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, said he supports legislation limiting how far agencies can go when promulgating policy in the Code of Federal Regulations without congressional approval, particularly when the policies might affect the economy.
Terrebonne, Lafourche and surrounding parishes are heavily affected by environmental regulations because so many companies provide services to the oil and gas industry. Scalise – along with other GOP House members – will have in 2015 what they did not have previously during the Obama administration, a majority in both houses.
Earlier this year, Scalise slammed proposed EPA rules aimed at reductions in power plant carbon emissions, “a continuation of President Obama’s attack on American jobs… It will lead to less take-home pay and higher energy costs for hard-working taxpayers as well as those on fixed incomes.”
After the Houma luncheon, Scalise said he is comfortable with the responsibilities of being the newest House whip.
He was asked if he has watched the Netflix series “House of Cards,” in which actor Kevin Spacey’s character is first introduced as a Machiavellian whip.
“I’ve just started watching it. I didn’t know I have that much power,” he quipped, referring to Spacey’s portrayal of fictional whip Frank Underwood, who exerts power throughout Washington and elsewhere by cajoling and manipulation.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, addresses the South Central Industrial Association Dec. 17 in Houma.
