Congressional Republicans are targeting the EPA for heavy duty oversight when they gain the chairmanship of certain committees in January. One Republican congressman has given fair warning to an EPA administrator that she will be a regular guest in the hot seat and witness stand. Dealing with a barrage of congressional inquires will certainly do nothing to speed along one program the EPA is already lagging behind on.
The EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is a human health assessment program that evaluates risk information on exposure to environmental contaminants. The database contains information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various substances in the environment.
A recent report by a non-profit research group says that despite much improvement and streamlining under the Obama administration the process lags far behind.
The EPA completed nine risk assessments of toxic chemicals last year and hopes to complete nine this year. While that’s “an improvement” from the Bush administration, “it would still take approximately 55 years to complete all of the assessments that EPA program offices need to complete statutory responsibilities,” a Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) statement says.
Among many problems highlighted are:
Thirty-two hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) regulated under the Clean Air Act are not listed in IRIS at all
Three of 71 contaminants regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act are not listed
Eighty-seven of the 275 substances frequently found in Superfund sites and identified by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry as “high profile” have not been assessed.”
Maybe it will be more than half a century will pass before the EPA completes the IRIS assessment given what Rep.Darrell Issa of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Rep. Fred Upton a member and possible future chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee have to say today in the rightwing Washington Times
The new majority in Congress certainly has its work cut out to undo the big-government havoc that was wrought during the Democrats' one-party reign over the past two years.
…the bureaucrats and the democrats would appreciate that they could go on the offensive here: when called to the stand by aggressive Republicans looking to cut programs, take the opportunity (and coordinate with advocacy groups to make some noise) to highlight and spell out the specific areas where such cuts would impact people directly, where the cuts would enable industry to get away with murder, literally, and call their bluff: make it emphatically clear that cuts in programs like the EPA will result in pain and suffering among real Americans. Don’t take the bait and make it a discussion about percentage increases and budget shuffling — connect it to the voters and expose what’s at stake.
Here’s how it works:
1) The GOP propaganda media releases completely made up story, easily debunked for the John-Birch-inspired nonsense that it is. Something like “EPA to oversee cremation of remains of all GOP voters when Obama reveals he’s really Hitler’s grandson!”
2) All news media runs easily debunked lies 24 hours a day for weeks.
3) Congressional Republicans subpoena EPA chief before Congress for weeks of grilling regarding non-existent made-up nonsense. The EPA chief has no response, other than ‘This is insane, nothing like this has ever even crossed our minds!”
4) Impeachment hearings started against Obama over his plan to roundup and murder all Republicans voters.
5) Sellout Dems in Senate side with GOP lies and Obama is removed from office. Impeachments continue until the most senior person in the Administration is a burrowed Bush holdover.
6) GOP decrees Democracy is too important to allow the People to vote for anyone but a Republican. No Democrats are allowed on the ballot. Rove gets his Permanent Republican Majority.
7) While the 24 hours news media was distracted with repeating lies invented by Fox News, the GOP Congress passed the Sell The Poor To China law which results in everyone making less than $250,000 is now enslaved to Chinese manufacturing companies.
8) Freedom finally reigns forever over America’s wealthy.