Free Market Leaders Praise Decisive EPA Action on Energy Affordability

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., August 31, 2005—Today representatives of five national public policy groups sent an open letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson praising his quick and decisive action to address the disruptions in energy markets caused by Hurricane Katrina.

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The signatories applaud the proposal announced today to waive rules governing gasoline production across all fifty states and end immediately special summer emissions regulations. These waivers will allow for faster and more affordable national distribution of gasoline both to the locations hit by this week’s hurricane and across the nation.

“We believe that complying with such standards introduces delay into the production process and raises the already high cost of gasoline even higher” wrote Fred L. Smith, Jr., President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “Given the current circumstances, the theoretical health risks that these standards are meant to prevent must be weighed against the very real health risks that are being encountered by the victims of the hurricane.”

The signatories to today’s letter are: Fred L. Smith, Jr., President, Competitive Enterprise Institute; Paul J. Gessing, Director of Government Affairs, National Taxpayers Union; Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council; Matt Kibbe, President & CEO, FreedowmWorks; and Duane Parde, Executive Director, American Legislative Exchange Council.

Full text of the letter is available here.