WASHINGTON—Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James issued the below statement following the confirmation of Andrew Wheeler to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

“The Heritage Foundation looks forward to working with Andrew Wheeler as the new administrator of the EPA. He understands that improving the environment and improving the economy don’t have to be competing goals.

 

“Mr. Wheeler’s senior roles in the EPA have helped produce sustained improvement of the environment while saving Americans close to $2 billion since 2017. Reversing unrealistic automobile fuel economy standards alone is projected to save American families and businesses thousands of dollars on the cost of every new vehicle.

 

“Whether intended or not, the regulatory process is too often abused and we’ve seen too many instances where expensive regulations were imposed that had very little, if any, environmental benefit and where the federal government overreached its authority to enact such measures. The costs of complying with new regulations are eventually passed on to every American household and business—in the form of increased costs to drive our cars, heat our homes, and buy our groceries.

“Mr. Wheeler understands sensible regulations should actually achieve meaningful environmental benefits while respecting the burden they place on citizens and at the same time respecting the government’s own constitutional boundaries to impose them.”