Lisa Jackson’s tenure at the EPA could most aptly be characterized as catastrophic. Over the course of President Obama’s first term, Lisa Jackson oversaw and directed policies that were hostile to job creators and burdensome to millions of Americans. Whether it was trying to ban hydraulic fracturing, closing coal plants, or increasing the average American’s electricity bill, Jackson seemed to leave no stone unturned in her quest to make the EPA the chief decision maker of American energy, environmental and economic policy. Writing in the Washington Times, Steve Goreham remarked:
For four years she [Jackson] led our nation down a regulatory path of economic destruction unmatched in the 40-year history of the EPA. New regulations from Ms. Jackson’s reign of terror impact power plants, industrial plants, refineries, and vehicles, as well as the cost of almost all goods and services. Unless her policies are rolled back, Americans will pay for decades with higher energy prices, job losses, and economic stagnation in exchange for negligible environmental benefits.
Before the Presidential election in November, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), released a report detailing numerous post-election regulations planned by the EPA. His report exposes the EPA’s intent to force hundreds of billions of dollars in new regulations unto the American people at the expense of thousands of American jobs. While Lisa Jackson will not be able to see her brainchild mature as she departs the EPA, most Americans unfortunately will. The EPA needs reforming, not empowering. Lisa Jackson leaving is hopefully a modest step in the right direction.