Retread Ted Strickland Continues to Threaten Ohio’s Economy

The EPA’s latest round of massive regulations – featuring a potential price tag that "would exceed that of any previous environmental regulation in U.S. history," threatens to put retread Ted Strickland in familiar territory: defending the loss of jobs in Ohio.

The New York Times reports this morning that even President Obama’s advisers warned ahead of his re-election that the regulations would hurt jobs and utilities in states like Ohio:

…his political advisers issued a warning: The rule would affect power plants and factories throughout the Midwest, slowing the economy in states like Ohio that would be crucial to the president’s re-election.

National Journal reported earlier this week on the criticism directed towards Strickland’s drift to the left – particularly for his work running President Obama’s war on coal:

After leav­ing the gov­ernor’s of­fice in 2010 and spend­ing a few years con­sult­ing, Strick­land moved to Wash­ing­ton to be­come the pres­id­ent of the Cen­ter for Amer­ic­an Pro­gress Ac­tion Fund…it has been an ag­gress­ive ad­voc­ate for much of Pres­id­ent Obama’s policy agenda…Most re­cently, he told Na­tion­al Journ­al that he likely would not sup­port con­struc­tion of the Key­stone XL pipeline, a hot-but­ton is­sue for busi­ness, labor, en­ergy, and en­vir­on­ment­al groups that he has long de­clined to take a po­s­i­tion on…the push­back Strick­land faces over Demo­crats’ ag­gress­ive cli­mate agenda, which has taken the blame for a sig­ni­fic­ant loss of coal jobs in Ohio. The Ohio Coal As­so­ci­ation in par­tic­u­lar has high­lighted his work along­side Car­ol Brown­er, Pres­id­ent Obama’s former en­vir­on­ment­al ad­viser, dur­ing his time at CAP.

Even after being fired from the governor’s office, Ted Strickland and his job destroying policies continue to threaten Ohio’s economy.

BACKGROUND:

Ted Strickland’s Center For American Progress Called The EPA’s Ozone Standards “A Big Win” And “A Milestone.” “The EPA’s proposed ozone standard is a milestone for clean air and public health with a direct impact on lives. The science says that the existing standard isn’t sufficient to protect the public from this dangerous pollution. EPA’s ozone proposal sets a modern safety standard based on the best available science that will reduce this widespread and dangerous pollutant that triggers respiratory disease, heart disease, and even premature death. This new ozone safeguard is a big win for clean air, and Americans will see significant health benefits from this action.” (Center For American Progress, “Statement: CAP’s Carol M. Browner On The EPA’s Proposed Ozone Standard,” Press Release, 11/26/14)

The Obama Administration’s Updated Ozone Regulation Draft Proposal Would Lower The Current Ozone Pollution Threshold To 65 To 70 Parts Per Billion. “In November, the Obama administration released a draft proposal of an updated ozone regulation, which would lower the current threshold for ozone pollution to 65 to 70 parts per billion.” (Coral Davenport, “New Regulations On Smog Remain As Divisive As Ever,” New York Times, 9/30/15)

The National Association Of Manufactures Estimates The New Regulation Could Cost The Economy $140 Billion Per Year In Lost GDP, Which Would Lead To 1.4 Million Fewer Jobs. “The current standard for ground-level ozone, set in 2008, is 75 parts per billion. The new rules would require states and counties to reduce ground-level ozone to 65-70 parts per billion or risk a host of economic and bureaucratic sanctions, including the loss of federal highway money. Make no mistake, what might seem like an incremental step would actually be a giant and costly leap. A study NAM issued earlier this year found the new standard would reduce U.S. gross domestic product by $140 billion per year, or a total of $1.7 trillion from 2017 to 2040. That would mean 1.4 million fewer jobs equivalents for Americans annually. When we say this would be the most expensive regulation ever imposed on the American public, this is not hyperbole, it is what the data tells us.” (Ross Eisenberg, Op-Ed, “Manufacturers Head To The Hill To Outline Ozone Fears,” National Association Of Manufacturers Website, 6/18/15)