Members Of Congress Request Extension For EPA Comment Period On Snap Refrigerant Program; NAMA Submits Comments

Oct. 24, 2014

(CHICAGO)  October 24, 2014 – Five members of Congress requested an additional extension to the comment period for a proposed ruling on ingredient substitutes under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to Eric Dell, NAMA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs.

NAMA filed comments on this issue to the EPA on October 20 on behalf of the refreshment services industry, meeting the original deadline extension for the comment period.

In their request, the congressmen asked that the EPA “provide a sufficiently long comment period until December 5, 2014 for its proposed rule issued August 6, entitled  “Change of Listing Status for Certain Substitutes Under the SNAP Program (Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0198).”  

U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga, authored the letter, and was supported by U.S. Reps. Mark Meadows, Bill Johnson, Robert Latta and Joe Wilson in expressing that the public comment period permitted by the EPA did not allow sufficient time for end-users to understand the complexity of the proposed rule and its impact on business operations and manufacturers –especially those in the food service equipment, appliance and lab equipment industries. Further, the congressmen expressed concern that: “Affordable, efficient, and safe manufactured equipment is essential to the regular operations of a wide variety of industries . . . [including] refrigerated beverage vending machines.”

“Proposed rules of this kind require extensive analyses across several industries, which take time and expertise,” Dell said. “NAMA consulted with our vending manufacturing members under short deadlines in order to draft and file our comment submission. Limited time for comments can negatively impact the depth and breadth of the comments.”

“NAMA applauds the leadership that Congressmen Huizenga, Meadows, Johnson, Latta, and Wilson took in addressing this issue with the EPA as it is critically important to our industry,” Dell continued.

“While the EPA did not approve the extension in this case, we appreciate the support and collaboration from members of Congress on this matter,” Dell concluded.

Founded in 1936, NAMA is the association representing the $42 billion U.S. vending and refreshment service industry.  With more than 1800 member companies – including many of the world’s most recognized brands – NAMA provides advocacy, education and research for its membership. Visit NAMA on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

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