AF&PA applauds House approval of EPA Regulatory Relief Act

WASHINGTON DC, Oct. 14, 2011 (Press Release) - American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman today issued the following statement regarding House approval of H.R. 2250 - the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011.

"I applaud the House for exhibiting strong, bi-partisan leadership by passing H.R. 2250. This is an important step toward protecting the tens of thousands of jobs affected by the costly Boiler MACT rules by providing EPA the time it needs to write a more reasonable set of regulations.

"With the economy in a state of such uncertainty, now more than ever our leaders must protect the jobs we have and help manage the regulatory burden for the businesses that provide those jobs in order to maintain and eventually rebuild our economy. We thank Congressmen Morgan Griffith and G.K. Butterfield for their leadership in bringing this bill forward.

"We now urge the Senate to pass the EPA Regulatory Relief Act without delay so that we can have regulatory certainty, achievability and affordability."

The American Forest & Paper Association is the national trade association of the forest products industry, representing pulp, paper, packaging and wood products manufacturers, and forest landowners. Our companies make products essential for everyday life from renewable and recyclable resources that sustain the environment. The forest products industry accounts for approximately 5 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP. Industry companies produce about $175 billion in products annually and employ nearly 900,000 men and women, exceeding employment levels in the automotive, chemicals and plastics industries. The industry meets a payroll of approximately $50 billion annually and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 47 states. Visit AF&PA online at www.afandpa.org.