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The Week Ahead...
According to an article in Politico Pro, Democrats may allow a vote on the amendment from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, authored by Senator Inhofe which would stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
Also this week, Senator Inhofe looks forward to welcoming all the witness appearing in next week's hearings.
On Tuesday, March 29, The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing entitled, "Oversight Hearing on Disease Clusters and Environmental Health" at 10:00 am.
On Wednesday, March 30, the EPW committee will hold a join hearing with the Subcommittee on Oversight entitled, "GSA: Opportunities to Cut Costs, Improve Energy Performance, and Eliminate Waste" at 10:00 am.
On Thursday, March 31, the EPW Subcommittee on Transportation and INfrastructure will hold a hearing entitled, "President's Proposed FY 2012 Budget for the Army Corps of Engineers" at 2:30 pm.
These hearings will be held in room 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
All EPW hearings are available to watch online and the written testimony for each witness will be posted a few minutes before the hearings start at http://www.epw.senate.gov/.
In the News...Politico Pro: Oklahoma threatens suit over EPA haze rules
POLITICO Pro
Oklahoma threatens suit over EPA haze rules
By Robin Bravender
3/23/11 5:25 PM EDT
Sen. Jim Inhofe has a powerful new legal ally in his campaign to halt EPA's efforts to slash haze in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt warned EPA chief Lisa Jackson on Wednesday that the state will sue the agency over its plans to replace the state's anti-haze efforts with a more stringent program.
The Clean Air Act makes it clear that "plans to address regional haze should be made by the state, not by EPA," he wrote to Jackson, contending that EPA didn't follow the proper steps for taking over the state pollution program. Pruitt said he'll file a formal lawsuit in 60 days.
Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and one of EPA's fiercest critics on Capitol Hill, has blasted the agency for weeks over its rejection of Oklahoma's haze plans.
"State officials in Oklahoma did the right thing: They worked with state utilities to devise a plan that will continue progress in cleaning the air while ensuring affordable, reliable electricity for consumers," Inhofe said in a statement earlier this month.
"But that was too much for the Obama EPA, which rejected the Oklahoma-led plan in favor of their preferred scheme to put Washington bureaucrats in charge and, ultimately, to make fossil-fuel-based electricity more expensive for consumers."
EPA's plan - announced March 7 - would force the state's three oldest coal-burning power plants to switch to natural gas or install pollution controls to limit sulfur dioxide pollution. Those three plants are responsible for about one-third of the haze-forming sulfur dioxide pollution from Oklahoma industrial sources.
"The steps we are taking to address the sulfur pollution from the oldest coal power plants will improve air quality for generations to come," EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz said in a statement earlier this month .
The agency determined that Oklahoma's plan wasn't strong enough to meet Clean Air Act requirements.
Related:
Oklahomans Voice Concerns about EPA Takeover of Haze Rule
Information on the Japanese Nuclear Accident
For the most up-to-date information about the Japanese Nuclear Accident and the response of the EPW committee and Congress, visit our webpage: Information on the Japanese Nuclear Accident
See Also: Tulsa World: Legislators tourt nuclear plant safety amid crisis