Most presidents try to complete unfinished business before they leave office. Sometimes, it's an elusive peace treaty or a signature piece of legislation. Almost always, the outgoing president should have stayed in bed. The rush to complete a task invariably ends up being a disaster.
Bill Clinton ended up deregulating the banking system before leaving office, and while it may have had some salutatory effects, it also led to the subprime mortgage disaster and the destabilization of banks that continues to this day. Lesson learned.
Joe Biden is on his way out and wants to give Americans some parting gifts in the form of massive regulatory overreach. Biden's Environmental Protection Agency banned two chemicals used as a solvent and in dry cleaning that some studies have shown lead to increased cases of kidney and liver cancer.
Those studies also show that the two chemicals — trichloroethylene, or TCE, and perchloroethylene, or Perc — only suggest a correlation with cancer. Trial lawyers love that kind of nebulous connection in that it gives them a huge leg up in cases against the chemical companies.
Naturally, the chemical companies are very unhappy, especially the dry cleaning industry.
The American Chemistry Council said in a statement that “the rule as proposed would present multiple challenges that could have far-reaching impacts on various industries and the national economy.” TCE is used in cleaners, spot removers, lubricants, and glue, among hundreds of other uses.
Perc is found in dry-cleaning and in automotive-care products. The dry cleaners are facing Armageddon.
The Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute and the National Cleaners Association said in their EPA comments that “any future decision to reduce or phase out the use of Perc in dry-cleaning will put an oppressive burden on thousands of cleaners.”
Most dry cleaners are very small businesses, unable to fight back against the EPA bullies. The EPA claims that there are plenty of substitutes available. Since the bureaucrats know little about business they have no clue how even a small increase in costs can affect a small business's bottom line.
Biden wasn't finished. His Food and Drug Administration has also taken the drastic step of proposing to outlaw Red Dye #3, the most common food additive in the U.S.
“With Red 3, we have a petition in front of us to revoke the authorization board, and we’re hopeful that in the next few weeks we’ll be acting on that petition,” Jim Jones, the deputy commissioner for human foods at the FDA, told a Senate hearing.
According to the FDA, the agency has reviewed the safety of Red 3 —which is derived from petroleum and found snacks, beverages, candy and more — in food and drugs “multiple times” since it was first approved in 1969, but the petition has requested for the additive to be reviewed once more.
“With the holiday season in full swing where sweet treats are abundant, it is frightening that this chemical remains hidden in these foods that we and our children are eating,” US Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), a ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote in a letter to the FDA.
“While food companies must ensure that the food they market is safe, they are also only required to ensure that their products meet FDA’s standards. This means that thousands of products that contain this chemical can remain on the market.”
Thomas Galligan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest says that additive is only a marketing tool and only added to food to enhance how they appear.
“There is something called the precautionary principle, which is basically the thought that it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Harvard adjunct professor Jerold Mande told NBC.
“The U.S. wears it as a badge of honor that we don’t adhere to it.”
There's also a good old-fashioned American adage that states, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The hysterics in California that will eventually end up banning sunshine because the sun gives you cancer shouldn't be able to govern the lives of the rest of us.
Congress can always overturn either or both of these rules if it applies the Congressional Review Act. Donald Trump could also intervene and simply not defend the rules if challenged by industry groups.
Biden's last-gasp effort to make our lives more complicated will probably fail.
