"Twelve attorneys general have submitted comments to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan expressing concerns about a new proposed rule they argue will increase energy costs and risk Americans' safety.

At issue is the EPA's proposed rule, 'Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs under Clean Air Act; Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention.' (87 Fed. Reg. 53,556), which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues is another attempt by the Biden administration to revive an Obama-era 'ennvironmental justice' regulation. If implemented, it would far exceed the statutory authority of the EPA, the attorneys general argue, which was curtailed by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

The rule would require a range of American facilities and industries to implement costly new processes to minimize 'climate change risks,' which the EPA hasn't proved will reduce such risks, they argue. Those impacted by the regulations would include petroleum refineries, chemical manufacturers, water and wastewater treatment systems, chemical and petroleum wholesalers and terminals, food manufacturers, packing plants, cold storage facilities, agricultural chemical distributors, midstream gas plants, among others.

The proposed rule would impose 'burdensome new regulatory requirements that do not lead to improvements in preventing accidental releases or minimizing the consequences any such releases,' they write, and 'would come at the cost of a greater regulatory burden without providing sufficient corresponding benefits.'"

Read the entire article here.

"House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has a math problem.

"He won the House GOP's nomination to be Speaker this week in a 188-31 vote.

"But far more GOP members voted against him than he can afford to lose on the floor Jan. 3 in a vote that would officially elect him Speaker. A vocal faction of Republicans who have the potential to make or break his Speakership continue to withhold support."

Read the entire article here.

"As if on cue, President Joe Biden asked the lame-duck Congress for yet another $47.7 billion supplemental spending package just as representatives and senators returned to Washington after the midterm elections.

"Lawmakers should reject Biden's spending binge.

"The lame-duck period is when Congress is least accountable, taking place after the American people voted out the Democratic majority in the House in favor of a slim Republican majority. Defeated and retiring lawmakers should not be adding billions to the taxpayers' tab, particularly after their reckless spending sparked inflation at a level not seen in four decades.

"This supplemental spending request for Ukraine aid and COVID-19 funding is more than an entire year's worth of regular appropriations for the departments of Agriculture and Interior combined.

"Biden's strategy is to attach these new spending requests onto a massive omnibus appropriations bill. A lame-duck omnibus would ram through a third year of liberal policy and inflationary spending agendas.

"Given our current fiscal and economic situation, every dollar of government spending -- coming on top of the $7.7 trillion spending spree since 2020 -- will add to inflationary pressures and burden American families."

Read the entire article here.

"The majority of Americans are delaying financial milestones and even abandoning certain events and activities because of the current state of the economy.

"According to a new survey from Bankrate, 53% of Americans have had to delay milestones such as home improvements and renovations as well as buying or leasing a car.

"Meanwhile, 58% of Americans have had to miss out on certain activities such as postponing vacations and opting out of dinners with family or friends.

"The data revealed that 15% of respondents had to hold off on purchasing a home, while 10% have had to push off furthering their education. Nine percent have pushed off retiring, 7% pushed off career advancements and 7% even postponed getting married. Additionally, another 7% pushed off having children."

Read the entire article here.

"The federal statutory debt ceiling makes for good policy. Congressional Democrats who want to repeal it to give themselves a permanent blank check to spend American taxpayer dollars are equal parts smug elites and constitutional vandals.

"Congressional Republicans should absolutely fight to defend the statutory debt limit this year and leverage it next year to extract badly needed spending reforms from President Joe Biden and his party. ...

"Contrary to the phony narrative coming soon to an editorial page near you, the debt ceiling is not a formality. It is not an anachronism or a symbol. It is an indispensable tool, specifically designed to protect taxpayers and check the ambitions of entitled politicians. The contempt elites in both parties have for the debt ceiling is compelling evidence for its value. ...

"The Constitution and federal law are thick with restrictions on overnment's ability to spend your money. The Origination Clause. The Spending Clause. Appropriations time limits. Since our founding, Americans have always known that politicians cannot be trusted with a blank check with your name on it.

"This timeless truth takes on new urgency today, as federal overspending triggered America's worst inflation crisis in 40 years, and a new recession. For the first time in a generation, wages are not keeping up with prices. The costs of gasoline, food, and housing have exploded as Biden and congressional Democrats drowned the economy in almost $5 trillion in additional deficit spending in less than two years."

Read the entire article here.

"Lawmakers are facing a serious time crunch to hash out government funding for fiscal 2023 as they return to the Capitol with Republicans poised to take a narrow House majority. Congress has until Dec. 16 to agree on new funding levels to avert a government shutdown. And while they can punt the deadline if negotiations require more time, lawmakers on both sides have been adamant that Congress finish its work before January, when a new Congress will be sworn in.

"Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday that he's already begun telling colleagues to prepare for 'heavy work' and 'long hours' ahead of lawmakers' return this week. 'We'regoing to try to have as productive a lame-duck session as possible,' he said.

"His comments underline the jam-packed list of legislative tasks lawmakers have to check off in the coming weeks, all the while sorting through the nation's finances.

"As Congress holds votes for the first time in weeks on Monday, lawmakers are staring down a critical monthlong stretch until government funding is scheduled to lapse. However, none of the annual appropriations bills have made it through both chambers, as the midterm cycle has dominated much of the focus on Capitol Hill for months."

Read the entire article here.

"The challenge for Republicans is to learn what led this election to be the least predictable election in my lifetime. They also must think through a clear, positive program that creates a vivid alternative of workable, doable solutions that solve the American people's problems. This should represent 90% of their effort.

"The Commitment to America was a start, and I promoted it everywhere. But it didn't become the center of the campaign the way the Contract with America did in 1994. The 75% who said America is on the wrong track want to know what Republicans will do to get America on the right track. McCarthy made a start in this direction, but the party system never drove it home and made it vivid."

Read the entire article here.

"Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it."

"A cloud hangs over Republicans. The election did not go as well as they thought. They expected the results nationwide to resemble the results in Florida, where Republicans walloped Democrats. Didn't happen. Florida now seems to be as exceptional politically as it is culturally.

"Races across the country are much closer than expected. Many have yet to be called. Chances are that the House will flip to Republicans, and Senate control will depend on the outcome of Adam Laxalt's race in Nevada and a probable December runoff between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker in Georgia. It may be a month before we know for sure, but Joe Biden can still become the fifth straight president to lose Congress in a midterm election."

Read the entire article here.

"A newly energized Republican Party fought Tuesday night to channel voter frustration with inflation, crime and the direction of the country in their bid to win back control of Congress and blunt the agenda of Joe Biden and ruling Democrats in governor's mansions and statehouses nationwide.

"But like the last presidential contest, a verdict was deferred in many close races beyond election day, leaving America with another cliffhanger in a closely divided nation. Even another runoff in a Georgia Senate race was still in the cards early Wednesday. ...

"CNN's exit poll showed more than seven in 10 voters nationwide believed the country was on the wrong track in the hands of Biden Democrats and that inflation was their number one concern. Gallup showed the dissatisfaction level even higher at 81%."