Rodney Davis Peddles Debunked Tractor Dust Regulation Conspiracy Theory

The EPA wants to regulate tractor dust. Can you believe that? It's getting to the point where a man can't even drive his tractor down a dirt road without big government getting in the way!

That's what Congressman Rodney Davis wants you to believe anyway. It's a good soundbite and the fact that it's complete nonsense hasn't stopped some politicians from peddling this conspiracy theory no matter how many times it's debunked.

Davis sponsored an amendment to let the Department of Agriculture comment on EPA regulation. In speeches and press statements, he argued that EPA is out of touch with rural America by reviving the old yarn that they want to regulate tractor dust on dirt roads.

Congressman John Shimkus was telling this dusty story back when Rodney Davis was still on his staff. Since then, the EPA administrator has said several times that there's no plan to consider regulating tractor dust, and multiple news organizations have debunked the talking point. At this point it should be absolutely clear to everyone that it simply isn't true.

Undeterred by reality, there's even a bill called the "Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act." What it actually does is prevent EPA from enacting regulations of soot and particulate matter that are only applied to major sources of industrial pollution, not farms. These are pollutants, often from coal power plants, that cause lung disease, heart attacks, asthma attacks, and other deadly health problems.

In other words, this has nothing to do with protecting rural America. Politicians who talk about tractor dust regulation want rural Americans to fight for the coal industry's right to kill them a little faster.

Davis offered his amendment to the REINS Act, which was passed by the House with his support. This Tea Party bill is designed to kill new regulation that protects the environment, public health, or deal with climate change. One expert put it this way:

The REINS Act is a proposal that may seem benign and appealing on the surface, but in fact, it is radical in concept and would be perilous in execution.  The bill could, in effect, impose a slow-motion government shutdown, and it would replace a process based on expertise, rationality and openness with one characterized by political maneuvering, economic clout and secrecy.  The public would be less protected, and the political system would be more abused.  Indeed, it is hard to imagine a more far-reaching, fundamental and damaging shift in the way the government goes about its business of safeguarding the public.

Davis does his best to sound like a reasonable moderate in press interviews. But judging by his actions, he has the same extremist anti-environment, anti-health agenda as his mentor, John Shimkus.