Chairman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma and Ranking Member Collin Peterson of Minnesota issued the following statements after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011 in a bipartisan vote, 292-130.

Farmers and ranchers are not happy with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They see an agency that does not understand agriculture and imposes burdensome and confusing regulations. EPA may be the federal agency charged with enforcing the Clear Air and Clean Water Acts but when it comes to agriculture their policies are unclear and the process murky at best.

There’s no doubt that the current budget situation needs to be addressed and I’m willing to put everything on the table, including exploring potential cuts to programs under the Agriculture Committee’s jurisdiction. What I am not willing to do is let our Committee bear a disproportionate share of the cuts.

<p>Today, the House Agriculture Committee adopted the budget views and estimates letter, which outlines the committee's budget recommendations for the agencies and programs under its jurisdiction for fiscal year 2012.</p>

With all due respect to the Administrator and her testimony regarding EPA’s commitment to science, transparency and the rule of law, farmers in the countryside don’t see that. They see an out of control agency that doesn’t understand agriculture and doesn’t want to understand. Today’s hearing gives the agency a chance to respond to this perspective.

The legislation we are considering today would restore congressional intent and address the court’s ruling by amending both the Clean Water Act and FIFRA to prohibit permits for pesticide application when pesticides are applied consistent with FIFRA.

Republican and Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives today introduced the Energy Tax Prevention Act (H.R. 910), a bill to block EPA’s controversial backdoor climate change agenda that would further drive up the price of energy for American consumers and job creators at a time when gas prices are already spiking and job creation remains weak.

Today, Reps. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, and Joe Baca, D-Calif., introduced H.R. 872, a bipartisan bill to reduce the regulatory burdens posed by the case National Cotton Council v. EPA (6th Cir. 2009).

Hearing to Review Implementation of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Organizational Meeting of the House Committee on Agriculture for the 112th Congress