Jay Timmons says 'next dollar won't be invested in America' as EPA announces new emission regulation
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons appeared on the February 10 episode of 'Fox & Friends' with co-host Rachel Campos to share his views on the new regulations announced by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States.
Campos began the segment by stating that the new manufacturing emissions regulation, which the government claims will save billions on public health costs over time, may disturb over $162 billion in economic activity and affect more than 825,000 jobs, according to a 2023 Oxford Economics Study.
Previous pro-industry policies being affected
Timmons wondered about the need for the new EPA regulations when the United States had some of the "strictest air standards" and "some of the cleanest air in the world."
"Over the last several decades, we have all been working on a bi-partisan basis to grow manufacturing investments and job creations in this country," he stated, citing the names of Presidents Bush, Clinton, and Obama.
"I think of those incredible tax reforms that President Trump put in place, that was truly rocket fuel for manufacturing investment and also the regulatory certainty that his administration put in place," he continued. "Let's give credit where credit is due. The Biden administration with infrastructure investment and Chips and Science Act, and even some of the policy provisions of the IRA," he said.
He added, "All of that is now in jeopardy because of the decision of the EPA to impose these radical PM 2.5 standards on the American economy, and that would adversely impact manufacturing and cause us to make decisions that we don't want to make - about where to invest our next dollar, which won't be in Amerca."
Looking into different emission sources
Responding to Campos' question about EPA not focusing on non-industrial emissions, Timmons spoke of "wildfires in Canada" affecting the air quality of the United States.
"Why don't we focus on controlled burns for those areas, or why don't we get rid of the brush ... that just causes more and more of this particulate matter to be released in the atmosphere?" he asked.
Biden strongly relates to his manufacturing community roots back in Pennsylvania, claimed Timmons. "I think his heart is in it, but his agencies are not. They are not serving him well at all, and they're not serving the American people well, and they're not serving the manufacturers well," he added.