In The News
EPW Subcommittee Hearing on “Emerging Technologies and Practices for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”
Wednesday May 9, 2007
I want to thank the Chairman for having this hearing focusing on technology. I believe that our nation’s pioneering of technology has been a vital component in America’s prosperity and I am fully committed to expanding new technologies in making our nation a better place to live.
What technology paths and goals we choose will help determine if further innovation acts as a catalyst or a drag to future economic growth. Mr. Chairman, clearly we disagree on the state of science. Just last year, we discovered for the first time that trees emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This shocking news underscored how little we know about some of the most basic processes of the planet.
And new science is coming out all the time. After Katrina, Gore and some others seized the opportunity to claim global warming is causing more hurricanes. But three weeks ago, a peer-reviewed study found warming will increase wind shear, which reduces both the severity and number of hurricanes. And just last week, another peer-reviewed study by one of our government’s leading scientists, Dr. Christopher Landsea, found that the annual trend in the number of hurricanes since 1900 has, in fact, not increased.
What technology paths and goals we choose will help determine if further innovation acts as a catalyst or a drag to future economic growth. Mr. Chairman, clearly we disagree on the state of science. Just last year, we discovered for the first time that trees emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This shocking news underscored how little we know about some of the most basic processes of the planet.
And new science is coming out all the time. After Katrina, Gore and some others seized the opportunity to claim global warming is causing more hurricanes. But three weeks ago, a peer-reviewed study found warming will increase wind shear, which reduces both the severity and number of hurricanes. And just last week, another peer-reviewed study by one of our government’s leading scientists, Dr. Christopher Landsea, found that the annual trend in the number of hurricanes since 1900 has, in fact, not increased.
MOTORISTS PAY THE PRICE AT THE PUMP
Friday May 4, 2007
Reuters reports in their article today, Gasoline prices hit $3 as refiners strain, that companies are “struggling to retool refineries to meet new environmental standards, have faced longer, more extensive maintenance and serious outages, draining gasoline inventories ahead of peak summer demand.” They cite as a reason an issue Senator Inhofe has been raising for years, writing: “New lower sulfur fuel specifications have forced refiners to increase the complexity of their equipment, making them more prone to outages.”
PRESS RELEASE: INHOFE, VITTER & ISAKSON INTRODUCE WASTEWATER SECURITY BILL
Friday May 4, 2007
Washington, D.C. -Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, together with Senator David Vitter (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security and Water Quality, and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), last night introduced the “Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act.” The bill will enhance and strengthen security at wastewater treatment facilities by providing local governments with the tools they need to make security decisions. A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released this week confirms that decisions regarding security, as well as those regarding treatment technologies, are best made at the local level. The bill is nearly identical to legislation previously introduced by Senator Inhofe that passed the EPW Committee in each of the past two Congresses and similar to legislation passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support in the House of Representatives in the 108th Congress.
INHOFE COMMENTS ON ENERGY COMMITTEE’S MARK UP
Wednesday May 2, 2007
INHOFE COMMENTS ON ENERGY COMMITTEE’S MARK UP
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, today commented on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee mark up.
"I am disappointed that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee decided to weigh in on the fuels issues in their legislation today. The environmental aspects and the legislation’s impact on the Clean Air Act’s regulatory provisions will have to be addressed before it reaches the Senate floor," Senator Inhofe said.
"While I have raised concerns about altering our fuels policies and regulations, groups traditionally not aligned with me have also taken up the issue, such as like Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists and Natural Resources Defense Council," Senator Inhofe said.
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WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, today commented on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee mark up.
"I am disappointed that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee decided to weigh in on the fuels issues in their legislation today. The environmental aspects and the legislation’s impact on the Clean Air Act’s regulatory provisions will have to be addressed before it reaches the Senate floor," Senator Inhofe said.
"While I have raised concerns about altering our fuels policies and regulations, groups traditionally not aligned with me have also taken up the issue, such as like Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists and Natural Resources Defense Council," Senator Inhofe said.
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SENATORS INHOFE, BOND, CRAIG & THOMAS CALL FOR ESA REGULATIONS TO BE MADE PUBLIC
Wednesday May 2, 2007
SENATORS INHOFE, BOND, CRAIG & THOMAS CALL FOR ESA REGULATIONS TO BE MADE PUBLIC
Senators Reject Partisan Politics and Support a Transparent and Open Public Process
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, along with fellow EPW Committee members Senators Kit Bond (R-MO), Larry Craig (R-Idaho), and Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), today sent a letter to Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne urging the expedited publication of proposed Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations in order to support a transparent and open public process. The joint letter is in response to some recent comments by Senators criticizing obsolete versions of proposed ESA regulations.
"The regulated community, advocacy groups, and Members of Congress alike ought not seek to influence rulemaking before the process begins. To the contrary, interested stakeholders should and are in fact encouraged to fully engage in the public review process, ask the appropriate questions, and voice their concerns and views," wrote Senators Inhofe, Bond, Craig and Thomas in the joint letter to Secretary Kempthorne.
"From all accounts, the draft document, to which my colleagues referred as ‘troubling,’ is an internal working document that has undergone considerable further review and thus is no longer relevant. Therefore, in order to allay continued misunderstandings and the unfortunate injection of politics into the transparent public rulemaking process regarding one of the most powerful environmental laws in the world, we strongly urge you to publish the proposed regulations in the Federal Register as promptly as possible," the Senators concluded.
Full Text of letter: (Click here for PDF Version)
Senators Reject Partisan Politics and Support a Transparent and Open Public Process
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, along with fellow EPW Committee members Senators Kit Bond (R-MO), Larry Craig (R-Idaho), and Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), today sent a letter to Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne urging the expedited publication of proposed Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations in order to support a transparent and open public process. The joint letter is in response to some recent comments by Senators criticizing obsolete versions of proposed ESA regulations.
"The regulated community, advocacy groups, and Members of Congress alike ought not seek to influence rulemaking before the process begins. To the contrary, interested stakeholders should and are in fact encouraged to fully engage in the public review process, ask the appropriate questions, and voice their concerns and views," wrote Senators Inhofe, Bond, Craig and Thomas in the joint letter to Secretary Kempthorne.
"From all accounts, the draft document, to which my colleagues referred as ‘troubling,’ is an internal working document that has undergone considerable further review and thus is no longer relevant. Therefore, in order to allay continued misunderstandings and the unfortunate injection of politics into the transparent public rulemaking process regarding one of the most powerful environmental laws in the world, we strongly urge you to publish the proposed regulations in the Federal Register as promptly as possible," the Senators concluded.
Full Text of letter: (Click here for PDF Version)
Animal Rights Extremists Arrested in the United Kingdom
Wednesday May 2, 2007
As reported in the Western Mail, UK law enforcement authorities arrested 30 people after raids were conducted across Britain, Belgium, and the Netherlands to apprehend members of an international criminal animal rights terrorist organization called Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty (SHAC). As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senator James M. Inhofe held hearings on SHAC and their dangerous tactics in the United States and passed the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act in the 109th Congress. (For more, visit Senator Inhofe’s EPW Committee website page on Eco-Terrorism )
DONT MISS IT...TONIGHT - The Glenn Beck Show: Exposed: The Climate of Fear, The Other Side of the Global Warming Debate
Wednesday May 2, 2007
DON’T MISS IT…
THE GLENN BECK SHOW
Exposed: The Climate of Fear - The Other Side of the Global Warming Debate
Tonight, Wednesday, May 2nd
7pm and 9pm ET
Tonight on CNN Headline Prime
THE GLENN BECK SHOW
Exposed: The Climate of Fear - The Other Side of the Global Warming Debate
Tonight, Wednesday, May 2nd
7pm and 9pm ET
Tonight on CNN Headline Prime
INHOFE & VOINOVICH URGE BOXER TO EXERCISE EPW JURISDICTION OVER EPA’S RENEWABLE FUELS PROGRAM
Tuesday May 1, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee and Senator George Voinovich (R-OH), Ranking Member of Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, today sent EPW chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) a letter urging her to exercise the EPW Committee’s oversight of the EPA’s renewable fuels program. The letter also asks Chairman Boxer to convene a legislative business meeting to consider related legislation as soon as possible.
"As you know, the Committee on Environment and Public Works has exclusive jurisdiction over the existing Renewable Fuels Program and primary jurisdiction over biofuels legislation in general," Senators Inhofe and Voinovich wrote in the May 1 letter to Chairman Boxer.
"Further, the Committee has a strong history of considering fuels legislation, whether related to water quality issues or more recently concerning the relationship between air quality and energy security, in a bipartisan manner. We hope that tradition continues under your leadership."
Senator Inhofe introduced a draft of President Bush’s alternative fuels legislation (S.1158) on April 19 and the bill was appropriately referred to the EPW Committee
NEW CBO REPORT EXPOSES FAILURES OF C02 CAP-AND-TRADE SCHEMES
Thursday April 26, 2007
NEW CBO REPORT EXPOSES FAILURES OF C02 CAP-AND-TRADE SCHEMES
"The CBO has revealed that a C02 cap-and-trade allocation scheme will result in a transfer of wealth from poor to rich."
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, today said the new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on proposed C02 cap-and-trade legislation was a "devastating indictment." The CBO report laid out the negative impact a cap-and-trade system would have on Americans, in particular, the poor. The CBO report, titled "Trade-Offs in Allocating Allowances for CO2 Emissions," was released on April 25, 2007.
"The CBO report exposes what I have been saying all along: C02 cap-and-trade schemes are an utter failure," Senator Inhofe said. "The CBO has revealed that a C02 cap-and-trade allocation scheme will result in a transfer of wealth from poor to rich. The Democratic leadership has to explain why they are willing to line the pockets of their corporate friends at the expense of the working class.
"Far from being good for the economy, as advocates say, C02 allocation schemes will disproportionately burden the poor, raise taxes, increase government spending, raise gas prices, raise home energy costs and decrease wages. It is hard to imagine the CBO issuing a more devastating indictment of proposed C02 cap-and-trade schemes. The CBO report should be viewed as a stern warning to our elected leaders to avoid symbolic solutions to an alleged climate ‘crisis’ that places the financial burden on America’s poor and working class.
"Today’s report confirms what Europe, Canada and many other nations have come to realize about C02 cap-and-trade schemes: The entire carbon debate has been skewed toward the least effective and most economically damaging of the various approaches.
"Today’s CBO report is the most recent analysis to show the folly of schemes like the Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto, if implemented, would result in the largest tax increase in the history of the U.S., costing an estimated $300 billion a year -- 10 times the cost of the Clinton-Gore tax increase of 1993. And even Kyoto proponents concede that it would have virtually no impact on the climate."
"The CBO has revealed that a C02 cap-and-trade allocation scheme will result in a transfer of wealth from poor to rich."
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, today said the new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on proposed C02 cap-and-trade legislation was a "devastating indictment." The CBO report laid out the negative impact a cap-and-trade system would have on Americans, in particular, the poor. The CBO report, titled "Trade-Offs in Allocating Allowances for CO2 Emissions," was released on April 25, 2007.
"The CBO report exposes what I have been saying all along: C02 cap-and-trade schemes are an utter failure," Senator Inhofe said. "The CBO has revealed that a C02 cap-and-trade allocation scheme will result in a transfer of wealth from poor to rich. The Democratic leadership has to explain why they are willing to line the pockets of their corporate friends at the expense of the working class.
"Far from being good for the economy, as advocates say, C02 allocation schemes will disproportionately burden the poor, raise taxes, increase government spending, raise gas prices, raise home energy costs and decrease wages. It is hard to imagine the CBO issuing a more devastating indictment of proposed C02 cap-and-trade schemes. The CBO report should be viewed as a stern warning to our elected leaders to avoid symbolic solutions to an alleged climate ‘crisis’ that places the financial burden on America’s poor and working class.
"Today’s report confirms what Europe, Canada and many other nations have come to realize about C02 cap-and-trade schemes: The entire carbon debate has been skewed toward the least effective and most economically damaging of the various approaches.
"Today’s CBO report is the most recent analysis to show the folly of schemes like the Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto, if implemented, would result in the largest tax increase in the history of the U.S., costing an estimated $300 billion a year -- 10 times the cost of the Clinton-Gore tax increase of 1993. And even Kyoto proponents concede that it would have virtually no impact on the climate."
WSJ Examines Highway Funding
Wednesday April 25, 2007
Although SAFETEA-LU does not expire until September 30, 2009, Senator Inhofe believes Congress needs to begin looking now at how future bills will be funded. Certainly one issue that needs to factor into deliberations is the effect increasingly fuel-efficient vehicles have on the balances in the highway trust fund. While increasing fuel-efficiency is a good thing, Congress can’t ignore the fact that our current system of fuel taxes to pay for transportation infrastructure depends in large part on optimizing the number of gallons of fuel sold. Senator Inhofe believes there are many interesting ideas on how to ensure transportation is adequately paid for and looks forward to working with his colleagues in giving this issue serious thought.
