Giant Snakes, Politics, and Science -A Hypocritical Mix

The Washington Wire is carrying astory this morning by Louise Radnofsky, Congressional Republicans Attack ‘Broken’ Rules System.

Radnofsky reports congressional Republicans are releasing a report critical of the Obama administration’s regulatory policy, a theme that will undoubtedly continue through the 2012 elections.

The bias oriented report suggests Federal agencies are ignoring the impact of their rules on small businesses and carrying out faulty analysis when weighing their costs and benefits, according to the report, which was written by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, which is chaired by California Rep. Darrell Issa.

The Environmental Protection Agency comes under fire for ignoring the impact on small companies of a 2009 rule that toughened training requirements for home renovators working on dwellings with lead paint. Construction companies say the rule has increased their costs and they have lost work to contractors who don’t comply.

The report cites Small Business Administration criticism that the EPA failed to give serious consideration to less-burdensome alternatives.

The White House launched an initiative this year to root out regulations that could hinder job creation, and has recently announced plans to purge hundreds of regulations deemed unnecessary and outdated. It also surprised activists by scrapping other proposed rules, including one to toughen air-quality standards.

The report also criticizes Fish and Wildlife Service plans to define boa constrictors and some pythons and anaconda as “injurious” to humans and the environment, banning their transportation across state lines in most cases. The agency has been paying particular attention to a snake infestation in the Florida Everglades. The agency is accused of failing to consider scientific evidence that the snakes may not pose a risk in most of the country.

Amazing is it not - the Republicans want to include scientific evidence when it works in their favor! And of course ignore it when it is embarrassing - like stem cell research, climate change, and evolution. The link at the top of the page will take you to the full article. Be aware that the accompanying comments are racially and ethnically insensitive!

Labels: , ,