The EPA’s Unfair ‘Sue and Settle’ Tactics
By Senator Mike Rounds

Too often, rather than writing and implementing regulations in an open and transparent process, environmental regulations are enacted as a result of citizen suits prompted by environmental activists. This practice is commonly known as “sue-and-settle.” I recently chaired a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee hearing to examine the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) sue-and-settle tactics and the impact they have on our economy and local governments.

Both the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act contain clauses that allow citizens to file citizen suits against a regulatory agency to reassure the agency’s compliance with federal statutes. Often, these citizen suits are being used to perpetuate this sue-and-settle process, which overwhelms regulatory agencies and results in settlement agreements and consent decrees requiring agencies to promulgate major regulations within an arbitrarily imposed timeline.

It is worrisome that these agreements are often negotiated behind closed doors, with no transparency and little input from the public before a final rule is issued. The parties responsible for implementing the rules, such as states and local governments, are nearly completely cut out of the process. They are not even consulted about the practicalities of the settlement agreement. Even more alarming, an EPW Committee report recently released found evidence of the Obama Administration colluding with environmental groups to advance these cases. This unfair process allows the administration to advance its own policy agenda while circumventing Congress and the entire legislative process.

As a result, sue-and settle techniques are creating expensive, burdensome regulations that cost taxpayers billions of dollars, stifle economic growth and limit job creation. What’s worse is that these rules are being made behind closed doors by unelected bureaucrats. The American people have no voice in the process. A recent study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that the EPA reconsideration of the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards could cost up to $90 billion annually, making it the most expensive regulation in history.

Since October 2014, there have been 88 sue-and-settle cases, 79 of which were launched by environmental groups. This squeezes out the voice of average Americans who deserve a say in the regulations under which we all must live.  I believe our government works best when the public is involved in the decisions that affect their daily lives and agencies work transparently and in good faith. Sue-and-settle practices undermine this concept.

As chairman of the EPW Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight, I take seriously my job to hold the EPA and other agencies accountable to the American people. I will continue working to stop the unfair sue-and-settle tactics used by the administration to circumvent Congress and the American people in order to promote their agendas.

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Rounds, King Introduce Bill to Give Small Businesses, Community Banks and Credit Unions a Say in CFPB Decision Making

PIERRE—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, and U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), introduced legislation to make certain small businesses, community banks and credit unions will always have a strong voice in the rulemaking process at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). S. 1963, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Board Enhancement Act, would create a new small business advisory panel within the CFPB and make permanent community bank and credit union panels within the Bureau. It would also require each committee to adequately represent members from rural and underserved areas.

“As the CFPB continues to make decisions that affect every American, it is critical for rural areas, community banks, small businesses and credit unions to have a voice,” said Rounds. “This is particularly important in rural states like South Dakota. Our bill makes certain that voice will be heard.”

“Small businesses, community banks and credit unions are invaluable forces in America’s economy, and they deserve a seat at the table as the CFPB makes important and far-reaching financial decisions,” said Senator King. “Rural communities in Maine, South Dakota, and all across the nation rely on these institutions to create jobs and grow the local economy. I’m proud to stand with Senator Rounds, my fellow former governor, on behalf of rural America.”

The CFPB is an independent agency created by Dodd-Frank responsible for consumer protection of the financial sector. It currently has four advisory groups that help it set policy, though only one – the Consumer Advisory Board – is required by Dodd-Frank. This bill codifies two existing advisory boards, the Community Bank Advisory Council and the Credit Union Advisory Council, and creates an additional advisory committee for small businesses. In addition, the bill would require each committee to adequately represent members from rural or underserved areas. The bill is supported by the Independent Community Bankers of America, the American Land Title Association, and the Credit Union National Association, among other groups. Similar legislation, H.R. 1195, passed the House of Representatives in April of 2015.

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