In The News
WSJ Editorial: Cap and Evade
How Senate Democrats maneuvered to kill a bill to rein in the EPA's carbon rule.
Monday April 11, 2011
Why do Americans hate politics? Consider last week's Senate spectacle on whether to rein in the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to regulate carbon dioxide. Democrats deliberately turned the votes into a hall of mirrors, with multiple amendments to dodge accountability.
The maneuvering began after Republican Leader Mitch McConnell introduced an amendment that would have barred the EPA from regulating carbon. Congress has never given the EPA that power, and a Democratic Senate expressly rejected cap and tax last year. But Administrator Lisa Jackson's EPA has claimed that power anyway under the 1970 Clean Air Act and later amendments, even though Michigan Democrat John Dingell says that he and other co-authors never intended to include CO2 as a regulated pollutant.
The maneuvering began after Republican Leader Mitch McConnell introduced an amendment that would have barred the EPA from regulating carbon. Congress has never given the EPA that power, and a Democratic Senate expressly rejected cap and tax last year. But Administrator Lisa Jackson's EPA has claimed that power anyway under the 1970 Clean Air Act and later amendments, even though Michigan Democrat John Dingell says that he and other co-authors never intended to include CO2 as a regulated pollutant.
POLITICO Pro: EPA holds on for dear life
Friday April 8, 2011
Republicans came out in droves this week - aided by three dozen Democrats - to oppose the administration's environmental regulations, and EPA's climate change rules are at the center of a heated budget battle that's threatening to shut down the federal government.
So far, the White House and the Senate Democratic leadership are standing firm against efforts to unravel EPA's power. But it's uncertain how long they'll be able to hold off continuing attacks or how much they want to sacrifice to protect agency rules.
Not long ago, the Obama EPA was riding high after Congress approved its biggest budget in history, and agency officials were hailed for their promises to guide their policies by science, rather than politics. But that was before Republicans swept into the House majority and made it one of their top priorities to unravel regulations they've deemed "job-killers."
So far, the White House and the Senate Democratic leadership are standing firm against efforts to unravel EPA's power. But it's uncertain how long they'll be able to hold off continuing attacks or how much they want to sacrifice to protect agency rules.
Not long ago, the Obama EPA was riding high after Congress approved its biggest budget in history, and agency officials were hailed for their promises to guide their policies by science, rather than politics. But that was before Republicans swept into the House majority and made it one of their top priorities to unravel regulations they've deemed "job-killers."
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
Thursday April 7, 2011
The moment of truth arrived: 64 senators voted yesterday, in various ways, against EPA's cap-and-trade agenda. The House just passed Upton-Inhofe, 255 to 172, as 19 Democrats voted to repeal that agenda. So what happens next?
The debate is surely not over-EPA will press ahead and the Energy Tax Prevention Act will come up again-so it's useful to recount what happened and why. Here's a brief list of the major issues, and how they played out:
It's Not About Kids with Asthma In countless speeches and meretricious ad campaigns, EPA's cap-and-trade supporters, desperate for some compelling basis for their position, cast the debate as protecting kids with asthma or protecting "dangerous" carbon "polluters." Support for the Energy Tax Prevention Act, they said, was tantamount to "gutting" the Clean Air Act. Of course such tripe made little headway, and the reason was obvious to the sane: carbon dioxide poses no threat to public health and the bill in no way affects federal laws governing real pollutants and toxic emissions. Not to mention the inconvenient fact that carbon emissions (and ozone) have declined while cases of childhood asthma have increased. (See chart here) Green activists overplayed their hand, and erased whatever shred of credibility they possessed.
The debate is surely not over-EPA will press ahead and the Energy Tax Prevention Act will come up again-so it's useful to recount what happened and why. Here's a brief list of the major issues, and how they played out:
It's Not About Kids with Asthma In countless speeches and meretricious ad campaigns, EPA's cap-and-trade supporters, desperate for some compelling basis for their position, cast the debate as protecting kids with asthma or protecting "dangerous" carbon "polluters." Support for the Energy Tax Prevention Act, they said, was tantamount to "gutting" the Clean Air Act. Of course such tripe made little headway, and the reason was obvious to the sane: carbon dioxide poses no threat to public health and the bill in no way affects federal laws governing real pollutants and toxic emissions. Not to mention the inconvenient fact that carbon emissions (and ozone) have declined while cases of childhood asthma have increased. (See chart here) Green activists overplayed their hand, and erased whatever shred of credibility they possessed.
POLITICO Pro: Dems smack down Obama climate rules
Thursday April 7, 2011
Angst over the Obama administration's environmental rules is reaching fever pitch on Capitol Hill, where even Democrats are looking to score points by smacking down the EPA.
In a series of Senate votes Wednesday on measures to block or limit EPA climate rules, 17 Democrats broke with their party to support measures to rein in one of the administration's top environmental policy initiatives. Four went so far as to side with a GOP-led effort to nullify EPA's climate rules altogether: Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
In the House, meanwhile, about a dozen Democrats are expected to join a near-unanimous GOP caucus to vote for an almost identical anti-EPA bill on Thursday. In what could be a test vote for final passage, 12 Democrats broke ranks Wednesday to vote in favor of the rule to move forward with the bill, introduced by Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (D-Mich.).
In a series of Senate votes Wednesday on measures to block or limit EPA climate rules, 17 Democrats broke with their party to support measures to rein in one of the administration's top environmental policy initiatives. Four went so far as to side with a GOP-led effort to nullify EPA's climate rules altogether: Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
In the House, meanwhile, about a dozen Democrats are expected to join a near-unanimous GOP caucus to vote for an almost identical anti-EPA bill on Thursday. In what could be a test vote for final passage, 12 Democrats broke ranks Wednesday to vote in favor of the rule to move forward with the bill, introduced by Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (D-Mich.).
Roll Call Votes: Amendments on EPA Regulations
Wednesday April 6, 2011
Posted by David Lungren David_Lungren@epw.senate.gov
ROLL CALL VOTES: AMENDMENTS ON EPA REGULATIONS
Baucus Amendment # 236
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Begich (D-AK), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Hagan (D-NC), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Levin (D-MI), Yea
Final Vote: 7 Yeas - 93 Nays
Stabenow Amendment # 277
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Final Vote: 7 Yeas - 93 Nays
Rockefeller Amendment # 215
Brown (R-MA), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Manchin (D-WV), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Pryor (D-AR),Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Final Vote: 12 Yeas - 88 Nays
McConnell-Inhofe Amendment # 183
Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Ayotte (R-NH), Yea
Barrasso (R-WY), Yea
Blunt (R-MO), Yea
Boozman (R-AR), Yea
Brown (R-MA), Yea
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Coats (R-IN), Yea
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Hoeven (R-ND), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Johanns (R-NE), Yea
Johnson (R-WI), Yea
Kirk (R-IL), Yea
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lee (R-UT), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Manchin (D-WV), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Moran (R-KS), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Paul (R-KY), Yea
Portman (R-OH), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Risch (R-ID), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rubio (R-FL), Yea
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Snowe (R-ME),Yea
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Toomey (R-PA), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Wicker (R-MS), Yea
Final Vote: 50 yeas 50 Nays
###
The Hill: Senate Republicans challenge Obama on energy push
Wednesday April 6, 2011
A group of Senate Republicans is urging President Obama to use his recently announced review of regulatory burdens to examine energy policies that they claim are blocking U.S. oil production and adding to higher energy prices.
The Republicans are circulating a letter they intend to send to Obama later Wednesday, an attack that comes as the White House is placing a heavy emphasis on its energy strategies. Obama is appearing at a wind turbine plant later Wednesday, the latest in a series of energy-related events.
"We believe the Administration hereby has the keys to unlock our domestic energy potential today. As this review is underway, and with recognition of the toll higher energy prices are taking on Americans, we respectfully encourage you to examine the damage these current policies are having on the economy, and to work to reconcile these contradictions," states the letter signed thus far by John Cornyn (Texas), James Inhofe (Okla.), David Vitter (La.), John Thune (S.D.) and several others.
The Republicans are circulating a letter they intend to send to Obama later Wednesday, an attack that comes as the White House is placing a heavy emphasis on its energy strategies. Obama is appearing at a wind turbine plant later Wednesday, the latest in a series of energy-related events.
"We believe the Administration hereby has the keys to unlock our domestic energy potential today. As this review is underway, and with recognition of the toll higher energy prices are taking on Americans, we respectfully encourage you to examine the damage these current policies are having on the economy, and to work to reconcile these contradictions," states the letter signed thus far by John Cornyn (Texas), James Inhofe (Okla.), David Vitter (La.), John Thune (S.D.) and several others.
POLITICO Pro: Inhofe to Dems: 'Get a life'
Tuesday April 5, 2011
Sen. Jim Inhofe has a simple message to House Democratic critics of the Republican plan to derail EPA climate change regulations: "Get a life."
The Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member wasn't amused by the series of snarky Democratic amendments to rename the GOP legislation preventing EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) offered a series of amendments to the House measure - which Inhofe is pushing in the Senate - to change the title of the bill to, among other options, the "Koch Brothers Appreciation Act," the "Middle Eastern Economic Development and Assistance Act," the "Head in the Sand Act" and the "Protecting Americans from Polar Bears Act."
The Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member wasn't amused by the series of snarky Democratic amendments to rename the GOP legislation preventing EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) offered a series of amendments to the House measure - which Inhofe is pushing in the Senate - to change the title of the bill to, among other options, the "Koch Brothers Appreciation Act," the "Middle Eastern Economic Development and Assistance Act," the "Head in the Sand Act" and the "Protecting Americans from Polar Bears Act."
E&E; News: 'Shrillness' of greens contributed to failure in Washington -- EDF chief
Tuesday April 5, 2011
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. -- Environmental groups have too often approached climate change politics with an air of disdain for their opponents and that must change if major federal legislation is going to advance, the president of the Environmental Defense Fund said yesterday.
With neither a comprehensive energy policy nor a carbon cap-and-trade bill moving in Congress, EDF President Fred Krupp said advocates must reassess their strategy and perhaps adopt a less arrogant approach that takes into account all sides of the global warming debate.
"There has to be a lot of shrillness taken out of our language," Krupp said yesterday, during Fortune magazine's Brainstorm Green conference here. "In the environmental community, we have to be more humble. We can't take the attitude that we have all the answers."
Krupp went on to suggest that the movement he has been part of as chief of EDF for 26 years would be well served to heed lessons learned over the past several years, which saw the optimism of a Congress and White House controlled by Democrats give way to a newfound hostility to climate policy after Republicans dominated the 2010 midterms.
In other words, Krupp appeared to acknowledge that the time has come for lobbyists associated with the green movement to play defense, especially on Capitol Hill, where confident Republicans are targeting U.S. EPA's authority to regulate carbon under the Clean Air Act.
With neither a comprehensive energy policy nor a carbon cap-and-trade bill moving in Congress, EDF President Fred Krupp said advocates must reassess their strategy and perhaps adopt a less arrogant approach that takes into account all sides of the global warming debate.
"There has to be a lot of shrillness taken out of our language," Krupp said yesterday, during Fortune magazine's Brainstorm Green conference here. "In the environmental community, we have to be more humble. We can't take the attitude that we have all the answers."
Krupp went on to suggest that the movement he has been part of as chief of EDF for 26 years would be well served to heed lessons learned over the past several years, which saw the optimism of a Congress and White House controlled by Democrats give way to a newfound hostility to climate policy after Republicans dominated the 2010 midterms.
In other words, Krupp appeared to acknowledge that the time has come for lobbyists associated with the green movement to play defense, especially on Capitol Hill, where confident Republicans are targeting U.S. EPA's authority to regulate carbon under the Clean Air Act.
111th Inhofe-EPW Congressional Accomplishments Report Released
Creating Jobs For a Growing Economy
Tuesday April 5, 2011
In the 111th Congress, Senator Inhofe advocated policies to help businesses create jobs and grow our economy. As the most conservative member of the U.S. Senate, according to National Journal in 2010, he understands that Washington should ensure that regulations and bureaucracy don't strangle job creation and economic growth. As the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), Senator Inhofe's primary concern was to stop job-destroying legislation and new regulations. Today the EPW minority staff released a report that chronicles Senator Inhofe's accomplishments in the 111th Congress, including his efforts to defeat global warming legislation, reign in the EPA's overreaching regulations, rebuild crumbling roads and bridges, and promote a robust energy economy.
VIDEO: Inhofe: Strong Bipartisan Majority in Congress Supports Stopping Obama Cap-and-Trade Agenda
With your help, we can finally put an end to the EPA’s cap-and-trade agenda.
Friday April 1, 2011
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Hello, I am Jim Inhofe, Republican Senator from Oklahoma, and the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.Today I have some good news to share with you: We have an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the United States Senate opposed to the Obama-EPA cap-and-trade agenda.
For almost ten years, I successfully worked to stop cap-and-trade legislation. Now, President Obama is trying to do through regulation, what he couldn’t do through legislation.
Therefore, two weeks ago, Senator McConnell, the Minority Leader in the Senate and I introduced my bill as an amendment to stop EPA’s cap-and-trade regulations.
Majority Leader Reid announced that very day that we would have a vote. Of course, he soon heard from a number of his Democrats colleagues urging him not to do it.
What we now know is that several Senate Democrats are faced with a tough choice: either support President Obama’s cap-and-trade agenda to make gasoline and electricity more expensive, or stand with consumers, small businesses, farmer, and ranchers who are demanding affordable energy.
This really isn’t a choice. Democrats know they can’t stand with the President’s energy policy publically – it simply doesn’t sell back home. So they are trying to have it both ways.
