The AP (9/2, Cappiello, Pace) reported President Obama, “in a dramatic reversal,” shelved “a clean-air regulation that aimed to reduce health-threatening smog, yielding to bitterly protesting businesses and congressional Republicans who complained the rule would kill jobs in America’s ailing economy. Withdrawal of the proposed regulation marked the latest in a string of retreats by the president in the face of GOP opposition, and it drew quick criticism from liberals.”
Bloomberg News (9/2, Drajem) reported the President “said he is seeking to reduce regulatory burdens as the economy recovers, and said the EPA would weigh tighter standards on ozone, which causes smog, in two years.”
On its front page, the New York Times (9/2, A1, Broder, Subscription Publication) reported the Administration “is abandoning its plan to immediately tighten air-quality rules nationwide to reduce emissions of smog-causing chemicals after an intense lobbying campaign by industry, which said the new rule would cost billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs.” The EPA, “following the recommendation of its scientific advisers, had proposed lowering the so-called ozone standard from that set by the Bush administration.” Leaders of business groups – including “the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Petroleum Institute and the Business Roundtable – met with” EPA administrator Lisa Jackson “and with top White House officials this summer seeking to moderate, delay or kill the rule. They told William M. Daley, the White House chief of staff, that the rule would be very costly to industry and would hurt Mr. Obama’s chances for a second term.”
The Christian Science Monitor (9/2, Clayton) reported, “Industry groups were heartened by the move. The National Association of Manufacturers” and the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association “applauded the president’s decision and called for elimination of more pollution regulations now in the pipeline.”
The Daily Caller (9/3, Boyle) noted, “A Manufacturers Alliance study estimated that the EPA ozone regulations would eliminate 7.3 million jobs by 2020, something a coalition between the National Association of Manufacturers and 35 state-level manufacturing associations cites in a letter to Obama urging him to stop these regulations.” The New York Post (9/2, Schachter) “Capital Punishment” blog also noted the study.
Harley-Davidson Sees Resurgence In Domestic Sales
The AP (7/20) reports that Harley-Davidson saw domestic sales rise for the firsttime in five years, which “more than doubled” the company’s second-quarter profit. The higher demand has eaten into”what were already low dealer inventories,” spurring Harley-Davidson to increase production levels slightly. CEO KeithWandell said keeping production in line with demand would be a priority for the company. “But more importantly,” headded, “as we get through our manufacturing transformation, one of the important things to note is that we’ll then havethe flexibility to be able to flex up and down much more quickly as these demand patterns and or seasonal patterns occur.”