OKC Standard

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) recently questioned Michael Regan, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing. The hearing was held to conduct oversight into the EPA’s proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget.

Mullin, who is also the Ranking Member of the Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee, emphasized that the EPA’s proposed rule on Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG) on Meat & Poultry Products contradicts this administration's goal to create a more resilient meat and poultry supply chain.

As a fourth-generation cow-calf rancher, Mullin understands firsthand the potential negative impact of new regulations on not only the country’s food supply and consumer costs but also on Oklahoma’s farmers, growers, and producers' economic prosperity.

“Under Joe Biden, costs have skyrocketed over 17 percent,” said Sen. Mullin. “While Oklahoma families are struggling to put food on the table, Joe Biden’s EPA is regulating entrepreneurs out of existence and setting new rules that will send meat and poultry prices through the roof. Industry has bent over backwards to meet regulatory standards, but the EPA would rather move the goal post and ignore private industry’s successes in effluent limitation mitigation than communicate with America’s farmers and ranchers. We must hold the EPA accountable to the American people.”

Mullin further questioned how these new regulations could be beneficial for consumers or for strengthening meat and poultry supply chains when protein prices are already at historic highs. He also expressed concern about additional costs that these regulations could impose on every meal served in America.

The senator concluded by challenging Regan to explain how these regulations could be seen as positive when they are predicted to add an additional 15-20 percent cost to protein.

Click here to watch the full video of Mullin’s remarks.