President Barack Obama announced Friday morning that the White House will be dropping attempts to enhance air quality by tightening ozone standards.
The President attributed the decision to “the importance of reducing regulatory burdens” during a period of economic uncertainty.
The new regulations, entitled the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, were the targets of criticism from both business leaders and GOP lawmakers.
Although the move will likely be interpreted by environmentalists as the President kow-towing to Congressional Republicans, the President stressed that his administration will “vigorously oppose” the broader effort to limit the EPA’s authority to establish environmental regulations.