Illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios
House Republicans are going after a key Biden air pollution rule under the Congressional Review Act, Jael has learned.
Why it matters: Passage would nullify the rule involving soot and potentially make similar regulations impossible.
- We can imagine this passing the House. The Senate, though, is another ballgame.
Driving the news: With House E&C's backing, Rep. Rick Allen is preparing a CRA resolution to invalidate the EPA's new rule on particulate matter — an air pollutant referred to as PM2.5.
- A spokesman for Allen said he will introduce the measure "any day now."
- An E&C committee aide said panel leadership has blessed the effort.
Catch up quick: The EPA's trying to regulate PM2.5 in a bid to improve public health.
- Pro-business groups say they're being too strict and have been grousing about it for months, urging Congress to intervene.
The big picture: Particulate matter can be very dangerous when inhaled. It is also released from many places, making regulation a particularly touchy subject to many industries.
- PM2.5 is often emitted from industrial sites and forest fire smoke. (If you remember choking on last summer's air, it made up some of what you were inhaling.)
- In high enough quantities, PM2.5 exposure is linked with potentially lethal health conditions, including cancers. That's not counting childhood exposure.
Of note: CRAs not only undo a rule but also make it impossible to write "substantially the same" regulations.
- It's not immediately clear how this effort would impact the EPA's overall ability to regulate particulate matter.
