WASHINGTON -- Less than an hour after passing the so-called Protect Life Act to guard the unborn, the House of Representatives passed a bill that the EPA warns will kill thousands of people prematurely.
House Republicans argued that the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 was a "timeout" from long-delayed regulations aimed at mercury that threatened to raise costs on boiler operators and incinerators. But the measure also exempts smaller burning facilities from any regulation at all.
The EPA estimated that the bill, H.R. 2550, would allow 20,000 people to die prematurely from pollution.
But for the GOP, preserving the jobs was more important. (Read more...)
