Republicans are outraged that the Biden administration is focusing their efforts on banning single-use plastic utensils as wars rage and the 'world is on fire.'
Earlier this month, the White Houseannounced a plan to phase out single-use plastics for government facilities.
The scheme will also add tougher regulations to plastic manufacturers in the U.S., the administration said.
The 'laughable' move will 'raise costs' and hurt the U.S. plastic suppliers, Republicans charge, saying this effort is absurd and will surely backfire.
'The world's on fire and he's worried about plastic forks,' Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told DailyMail.com, adding that policy is 'par for the course' for the administration.
President Joe Biden's administration announced a plan for the U.S. government to phase out purchasing single-use plastic. The directive will force government locations, like military bases, to find alternatives for plastic utensils and other single-use products
The Biden administration's plan seeks to outlaw the purchasing of single-use plastics by 2027
'Look, I certainly understand that plastics are a pollutant, we need to do a better job with it,' Rounds continued.'But I'm a little bit hesitant to say that this plastic ban will be a good thing.'
'Black and white mandates like this typically backfire. I think there's things that we could do as a government, as well as individuals, to keep improving our environment.'
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told DailyMail.com Biden's effort is 'absurd' and 'laughable.'
'I mean, first of all, what is so bad about plastic forks and spoons? I mean, I assume the biggest impact this will have will be at government workplaces, military bases, things like that,' Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speculated.
'Does that mean that they're going to have to have, like, stainless steel silverware everywhere, with a lot of people washing dishes, and what about people who need things to go?'
He said the effort to phase out single use plastics is misplaced, and that if the White House meaningfully wants to reduce waste, it should shrink the size of the government, the consumer, rather than outlawing plastic, the product consumed.
'They should shrink the government if they want it to be less of a consumer. The reason it's the largest consumer is because it's it employs so many people, and it's doing so many things it was probably never intended to do.'
'So if they want to reduce the impact of the U.S. government environmentally, they should right-size the government.'
Lee continued: 'Now, I hope this isn't a step toward banning them, like a public facing ban of general applicability.'
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that solving plastic pollution in the world's oceans is a pressing issue, but expressed skepticism over the ban.
'Well, I'd like to deal with plastics in the ocean problem. But I'm not so sure this is the answer,' he told DailyMail.com.
The ban would impact federal cafeterias like those on Capitol Hill, shown above during a pro-Gaza protest in April 2024
The new administration plan seeks to outlaw plastic utensils at government facilities by
A cash register attendant looks at a sign that reads "Plastic Bags Ban" in a grocery store in New York on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. Many types of plastic bags will be banned starting March 1, 2020 in New York state in an effort to reduce pollution
The central feature of the plan is to phase out single-use plastics for food, packaging and events purchased by the federal government by 2027.
The goal is to eradicate all single use-plastics from federal operations by 2035.
'It's more messaging and ridiculousness, and it's a direct shot to that whole industry,' Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., exclusively told DailyMail.com.
'It's also clearly not where everybody is. It's going to raise costs for a lot of folks so it seems to be just irrelevant on deficit issues.'
Lankford, who served in the House from 2011 - 2015, recalled a previous attempt to ban plastic dinnerware on Capitol Hill, noting how efforts to ban the products generally get overturned by new administrations.
The controversial move to ban plastic spoons, forks and more first outraged Republicans years ago when former Speaker Nancy Pelosi first forbid them in 2007.
Once Republicans regained control of the House later in 2011, they scraped the deal, citing how the nearly half a million dollars spent trucking the compostable utensils.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outlawed plastic utensils in the U.S. Capitol from 2007-2011 before Republicans took power and overturned the rule, Sen. Lankford noted
Military bases would also be impacted by the ruling, Sen. Mike Lee speculated
'We've been through that here at the capitol as you know, when Speaker Pelosi said we're going to have digestible silverware everywhere, and everyone went crazy for it, until they started using it to realize you're eating your spoon as well and it doesn't taste great,' Lankford said of Pelosi's 2007 'Green the Capitol' initiative.
Pelosi's plan introduced biodegradable utensils, to Capitol Hill before being overturned by Republicans in 2011.
Styrofoam cups and plastic forks returned to Capitol cafeterias once the GOP, led by former Speaker John Boehner, retook the chamber.
