The Hill News

This week the Democrat-controlled Senate rejected President Obama’s jobs bill. But there is another jobs bill on the horizon, and this one can pass the Senate.

I authored H.R. 2273 to establish a state-based regulatory framework for the disposal and management of coal ash and it is set to hit the House floor today. It will improve the economy and strengthen public health, and unlike most things in Washington these days, is genuinely bipartisan.

Coal ash is an unavoidable byproduct of burning coal to produce electricity. Much of it is recycled to make concrete and other building materials more durable and less water-intensive, which in turn benefits the environment.

Recently, President Obama’s EPA has proposed regulating it as a hazardous material, but two EPA studies under the Clinton administration found that coal ash was not hazardous. Another study found ruling coal as a hazardous material could eliminate up to 316,000 jobs over the next 20! years. And already, the stigma the EPA has created surrounding coal ash’s use has had a chilling effect on the various industries that recycle it.

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