GOP senators accuse Biden of promoting 'ambiguous left-wing ideas' like 'equity'

A group of Republican senators attacked the Biden administration for recent changes to the federal rulemaking process that would integrate concerns about racial justice and environmental issues into national policy.

“While rulemakings have traditionally covered only real, tangible costs and benefits, the Biden administration has directed OIRA [the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs] to promote ambiguous left-wing ideas like ‘equity’ and ‘environmental stewardship’ and assign to them speculative monetary values,” the senators said in a statement released Tuesday.

The statement also claimed that the Biden administration is in the midst of a campaign to enact a “woke agenda,” using a term that has become a catch-all phrase among conservatives to attack Democrats and progressives.

Sens. Ted Cruz (TX) and John Barrasso (WY) were the lead signatories on a letter dated June 6 that was sent to OIRA’s administrator, Richard L. Revesz. It was also signed by Sens. Mike Braun (IN), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Bill Cassidy (LA), Mike Crapo (ID), Joni Ernst (IA), Chuck Grassley (IA), and Rand Paul (KY).

The Republicans’ complaints are in response to President Joe Biden’s April 6 executive order that laid out plans to modernize the process of reviewing federal regulations before they are implemented.

Revesz explained the initiative in a White House blog post on that same day.

“Taken together, these new steps will produce a more efficient, effective regulatory review process that will help improve peoples’ lives—from protecting children from harmful toxins and lowering everyday costs for families, to improving rail safety and growing our economy from the middle out and bottom up,” Revesz wrote.

Revesz cited a memo sent by Biden on the first day of his presidency on Jan. 20, 2021, to the heads of executive branch departments and agencies soliciting recommendations for the review process.

“These recommendations should provide concrete suggestions on how the regulatory review process can promote public health and safety, economic growth, social welfare, racial justice, environmental stewardship, human dignity, equity, and the interests of future generations,” the memo said.

During his presidential campaign in 2020, Biden said that he would use his presidency to address issues of racial injustice and to better position the United States to handle environmental issues, particularly global climate change.

Since winning the election and taking office, Biden has frequently spoken about racial justice and has addressed systemic racism in infrastructure and the environment with a host of policies. Biden has also signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which has invested record amounts in climate technology and green energy, while also using the power of the federal government to protect the environment.

The two leading Republican presidential candidates have supported racist ideas and figures and have expressed hostility toward environmental concerns.

Former President Donald Trump frequently expressed support for polluters over environmental groups and concerns when he was president, and has falsely called the climate change a “hoax” created by the Chinese government.

In his May 24 campaign launch, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described concerns about climate issues as “left-wing stuff” and said concerns about intensifying hurricanes were “politicization of the weather” in a Fox News interview that same day.

Trump was widely criticized for referring to neo-Nazis who rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 as “very fine people” and was the most prominent promoter of the debunked racist conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

DeSantis has sought to impose a ban on diversity programs in state colleges and recently said he would change the name of U.S. Army base Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, originally named in honor of Confederate Army General Braxton Bragg.

In an April 25 video released to announce his reelection campaign, Biden reiterated his support for addressing racial issues and said he intended to “finish the job.”

“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Biden said.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.