May 2016 Articles

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Farm Bureau Asks Senate Subcommittee to Rein in Out-of-Control EPA

Farm Bureau Asks Senate Subcommittee to Rein in Out-of-Control EPA WASHINGTON, D.C., April 12, 2016 – Congress should hold the Environmental Protection Agency accountable for its repeated violations of open government laws, American Farm Bureau Federation board member and Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Tom Buchanan told a Senate subcommittee today. Buchanan testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Oversight nearly a year after the conclusion of the EPA’s flawed Waters of the United States rulemaking process. The agency came under fire then for acting as a vocal and highly politicized advocate for its proposal, rather than as a fair broker that would weigh all public comments impartially. The Government Accountability Office ultimately found EPA had violated the law by pushing “covert propaganda” on an unsuspecting public to gin up support for its own action Buchanan highlighted EPA’s anti-farmer war of words: “That campaign consisted almost entirely of non-substantive platitudes about the importance of clean water – which no one disputes. It used simplistic blogs, tweets and YouTube videos to generate purported ‘support’ for the rule among well-intended people who have absolutely no idea of what the rule would actually do or what it will cost,” Buchanan said. “Regardless of whether you supported, opposed or never heard of the waters rule, I hope many of you would agree that this is not how rulemaking should be conducted.” Source: www.frb.org
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