Even Air Conditioners and Fireplaces Aren’t Safe From Obama’s EPA

June 27, 2012

Democrats’ Regulatory Rampage Is Creeping Into Every Aspect of Daily Life

The Democrats’ regulatory rampage is creeping into every aspect of daily life, with Obama’s EPA announcing new regulations on air conditioners and fireplaces.
These are just the latest burdensome regulations from an EPA that continues to ignore the economic impact of its decrees.
These regulations run amok by the EPA are reflective of many of the Democrats’ policies.

The Democrats’ regulatory rampage is creeping into every aspect of daily life, with Obama’s EPA announcing new regulations on air conditioners and fireplaces:

HOUSEHOLD FIREPLACES UNDER FIRE: EPA RECENTLY RELEASED NEW SOOT REGULATIONS: “EPA signed a proposed rule to set tighter soot air quality standards on Thursday, as ordered last week by a federal judge fed up with the agency’s stalling. … EPA air chief Gina McCarthy has often argued that that EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for power plants and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, among others, will result in significant enough reductions of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5.” (Alex Guillen, Politico’s “Morning Energy,” 6/22/2012)

EVEN PARTICULATE MATTER EMITTED FROM FIREPLACES AND STOVES IS TARGETED BY NEW EPA REGS: (“Healthy Hearths,” South Coast Air Quality Management District, 10/20/2011)

“COST OF AIR CONDITIONER REFRIGERANT SKYROCKETS” DUE TO EPA REGS: “But homeowners could get sticker shock if their air conditioner needs to be repaired and the coolant known as Freon needs to be added. The price for the stuff is up as much as 400 percent and the industry is blaming the Environmental Protection Agency. Many air conditioners, particularly ones installed more than 10 years ago, use R- 22 refrigerant. R-22 refrigerant, commonly called Freon, is being phased out worldwide and replaced with a refrigerant that doesn’t damage the atmosphere. But earlier this year the EPA, which controls the production and import of Freon, raised the possibility of speeding up the phase out and also failed to set allocations for manufacturers this year. That move sowed confusion in the refrigerant market, according to Charlie McCrudden of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America.’We know we’re facing a phase out, but how much further is the EPA going to accelerate that phase out,’ McCrudden said. The change, he says, ‘caused a little bit of frenzy in the marketplace.’ Supply has shrunk, demand has grown in the hot weather and the price is through the roof.” (Dick Uliano, “Cost of Air Conditioner Refrigerant Skyrockets,” WTOP, 6/12/2012)

CONSUMERS WHO NEED TO FIX THEIR SUMMER AIR CONDITIONING WILL BE HIT WITH HIGHER COSTS: “ ‘I think consumers who are facing servicing should just be prepared because their contractor has to pass along these costs. They’re forced to pay much more for this basic element of the refrigeration system,’ he said.” (Dick Uliano, “Cost of Air Conditioner Refrigerant Skyrockets,” WTOP, 6/12/2012)

These are just the latest burdensome regulations from an EPA that continues to ignore the economic impact of its decrees:

“POTENTIAL ECONOMIC IMPACT” ON JOB CREATORS “ISN’T A FACTOR” IN OBAMA ADMIN’S NEW REGULATIONS: “Ashe, who visited Oklahoma at Inhofe’s request, said that while the potential economic impact on business and industry may be significant, it isn’t a factor in determining whether a species is threatened or endangered.” (Sean Murphy, “Bird Causes Economic Development Woes in Okla.,” The Houston Chronicle, 9/8/2011)

OBAMA’S EPA HAS ADMITTED THEY DON’T CONSIDER JOBS DESTROYED BY THEIR RULE-MAKINGS: “The Obama administration has repeatedly said job creation is a top priority, but apparently the memo seems to have missed the bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This became evident when EPA Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus testified Thursday before an Environment and Energy subcommittee hearing that his agency does not take jobs into account when it issues new regulations. ‘We have not directly taken a look at jobs in the proposal,’ Stanislaus said, referring to a regulation that would govern industries that recycle coal ash and other fossil fuel byproducts.” (John Rossomondo, “EPA Official Says Jobs Don’t Matter,” The Daily Caller, 4/16/2011)

UNITED MINE WORKERS UNION: “LISA JACKSON SHOT US IN WASHINGTON”: “ ‘The Navy SEALs shot Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan and Lisa Jackson shot us in Washington,’ Cecil Roberts, president of the powerful union, said during an interview Tuesday on the West Virginia radio show MetroNews Talkline.

“Roberts blasted Jackson, the EPA administrator, over the proposed regulations, which would limit greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants. Opponents of the regulations, including Roberts, say the new rules would be the death knell of the coal industry.” (Andrew Restuccia, “Mine Union Boss: Coal Industry Could Suffer Same Fate as Bin Laden,” The Hill, 4/4/2012)

These regulations run amok by the EPA are reflective of many of the Democrats’ policies:

AT LAST COUNT, OBAMACARE REGULATIONS AT 5,931 PAGES: (David Hogberg, “ObamaCare’s 5,931 Pages of Regulations,” Investor’s Business Daily, 3/23/2012)

A TAX ON PETS: IRS SAYS MEDICAL DEVICES USED ON BOTH ANIMALS AND HUMANS WILL BE TAXED: “The commentator suggested that if the manufacturer can demonstrate that a device is sold for use in veterinary medicine, the excise tax should not be imposed on that sale. The proposed regulations do not adopt this suggestion because the statutory language does not limit the definition of ‘taxable medical device’ to devices intended exclusively for humans. Therefore, a device that is intended for humans but that is also intended for use or used in veterinary medicine is a ‘taxable medical device’ if it is listed as a device with the FDA pursuant to FDA requirements, and does not fall within an exemption under section 4191(b)(2), such as the retail exemption.” (Steven T. Miller, “Taxable Medical Devices,” Internal Revenue Service, 2/3/2012)

OBAMACARE’S HEART ATTACK TAX WOULD TAX “EVERYTHING FROM CARDIAC DEFIBRILLATORS TO ARTIFICIAL JOINTS TO MRI SCANNERS”:“’Taxmageddon’ isn’t only about the half-trillion-dollar blow to the economy that arrives in 2013 on the end of the Bush-Obama tax rates. Several of the Affordable Care Act’s worst tax increases kick in too, such as the new excise tax on medical devices. The 2.3% levy applies to the sale of everything from cardiac defibrillators to artificial joints to MRI scanners.” (Editorial, “Improvised Explosive Device Tax,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/28/2012)

THE TAX COULD HIT PACEMAKERS, STENTS, ELASTIC BANDAGES, ARTIFICIAL HIPS AND KNEES, ETC.: (Susan Kelly, “Medical Device Tax May Spur Price Hikes, Cost Cuts,” Reuters, 4/18/2012

OBAMACARE ALSO CREATED A 10% TANNING TAX THAT HAS DESTROYED JOBS: (“House Republicans File Bill to Repeal Tanning Tax,” Fox News, 6/5/2011)