Scalise Bill Cuts Red Tape to Boost American Manufacturing and Create Jobs

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) today introduced legislation, the Promoting New Manufacturing Act, to increase investment in American manufacturing, create new jobs and reduce costly permitting delays.

“Our national debt is racing towards $18 trillion, and every month more and more Americans are leaving the workforce,” said Congressman Steve Scalise, Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Power. “The Administration should be doing everything in its power to grow the economy and help Americans get back to work. The Promoting New Manufacturing Act takes critical steps toward cutting red tape, reviving our country’s manufacturing base, and creating thousands of high-paying jobs for hard-working Americans. By increasing transparency and holding the EPA accountable, we can jump start a broken permitting process that is holding back our economy, which is good news for hard working taxpayers.”

“I thank Rep. Scalise for his leadership in advancing this important jobs bill,” said U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “The disappointing news that the U.S. economy shrunk in the first quarter of 2014 underscores the need for this commonsense measure so we can build new factories and get folks back to work. This bill is an important part of our plans to build the Architecture of Abundance, and will allow our energy abundance to fuel a manufacturing renaissance.”

“We have been sputtering along with our economy for some time, and we must do everything we can to expedite the permitting process,” said Chairman Ed Whitfield of the Subcommittee on Energy and Power. “The chemicals industry alone has proposed 177 new projects that continue to be put on hold because of federal red tape, which can be attributed to President Obama’s EPA. This President continues to say one thing, and then allows his administration to do another. We need to create jobs, and one way to do this is by promoting manufacturing. I agree that we must have a ‘can do’ attitude as Obama said last week, but we must have ‘can do’ opportunities for the American people and the spirit of this country. I thank Rep. Scalise for leading this effort to create these opportunities. "

The Promoting New Manufacturing Act:

• Reduces costly construction permitting delays that impede the construction of new facilities by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide guidance on how to comply with new or revised air quality standards.
• Increases transparency by making public the number of Clean Air Act New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction permits issued annually and the timelines for the full permitting process.
• Promotes the efficient processing of permits by requiring EPA to provide Congress with an annual report on the actions being taken by the agency to expedite the permitting process.

All across the United States there are hundreds of proposed manufacturing facilities not being constructed because they are held up in burdensome permitting processes and bureaucratic red tape. According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC), there are currently 177 announced manufacturing projects that will contribute an estimated $112 billion to the U.S. economy. By 2023, the ACC estimates, these new investments could generate tens of billions in chemical industry exports and hundreds of thousands of permanent jobs.