In The News
The Hill: Inhofe floats bill to require broad economic analysis of EPA rules
Wednesday March 16, 2011
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) will introduce legislation Wednesday requiring a wide-ranging analysis of the economic effects of Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
The bill comes as Republicans have alleged that EPA's rules are an assault on the economy. A House panel passed legislation Tuesday to eliminate the agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and the Republicans are hoping to vote on the bill as an amendment to small business legislation.
Inhofe and other Republicans have said the agency has not adequately analyzed the economic implications of its regulations.
Inhofe's legislation would set up a committee comprised of a number of top Obama administration officials, including the secretaries of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Commerce and Labor. The committee would also include the administrator of the EPA and the head of the Small Business Administration.
The bill comes as Republicans have alleged that EPA's rules are an assault on the economy. A House panel passed legislation Tuesday to eliminate the agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and the Republicans are hoping to vote on the bill as an amendment to small business legislation.
Inhofe and other Republicans have said the agency has not adequately analyzed the economic implications of its regulations.
Inhofe's legislation would set up a committee comprised of a number of top Obama administration officials, including the secretaries of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Commerce and Labor. The committee would also include the administrator of the EPA and the head of the Small Business Administration.
POLITICO Pro: Senate Dems scramble to defend EPA
Wednesday March 16, 2011
Senate Democrats are scrambling to combat a GOP-led offensive against the Obama administration's climate regulations ahead of a possible Wednesday floor showdown.
In a surprising move, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled Tuesday he would allow a floor vote on a Republican amendment to nullify the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered the amendment - authored by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) - to the small-business bill pending on the floor. The language mirrors the anti-EPA bill the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed during a daylong markup Tuesday.
Now, Reid and other top Senate Democrats who oppose the amendment are looking for ways to kill it. And they may have a tougher time than they expected, given the momentum after the Energy and Commerce vote and anti-EPA sentiment among moderate Senate Democrats.
In a surprising move, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled Tuesday he would allow a floor vote on a Republican amendment to nullify the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered the amendment - authored by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) - to the small-business bill pending on the floor. The language mirrors the anti-EPA bill the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed during a daylong markup Tuesday.
Now, Reid and other top Senate Democrats who oppose the amendment are looking for ways to kill it. And they may have a tougher time than they expected, given the momentum after the Energy and Commerce vote and anti-EPA sentiment among moderate Senate Democrats.
The Hill: Bill to block EPA rules advances after spat on climate science
Tuesday March 15, 2011
Republicans on a key House panel approved a bill Tuesday that would permanently block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
The legislation passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a 34-19 vote. The bill won the support of every Republican and three Democrats: Reps. Mike Ross (Ark.), Jim Matheson (Utah) and John Barrow (Ga.).
It's the latest step forward for the legislation, which would prohibit the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources such as power plants and refineries. The bill, authored by House Energy Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), is expected to come up on the House floor in the coming weeks.
"We have lost one in five manufacturing jobs in the last number of years," Upton said. "There are a good number of us that believe in fact that these new EPA regulations will increase costs for every manufacturer out there."
The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) has introduced companion legislation to the House bill.
The legislation passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a 34-19 vote. The bill won the support of every Republican and three Democrats: Reps. Mike Ross (Ark.), Jim Matheson (Utah) and John Barrow (Ga.).
It's the latest step forward for the legislation, which would prohibit the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources such as power plants and refineries. The bill, authored by House Energy Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), is expected to come up on the House floor in the coming weeks.
"We have lost one in five manufacturing jobs in the last number of years," Upton said. "There are a good number of us that believe in fact that these new EPA regulations will increase costs for every manufacturer out there."
The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) has introduced companion legislation to the House bill.
The Hill: Reid plans to allow vote on GOP amendment to block EPA climate rules
Tuesday March 15, 2011
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that he plans to allow a floor vote on a primarily GOP bill that would strip the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, refineries and other sources.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the minority leader, is trying to attach the plan to small-business legislation that's currently on the Senate floor.
Reid attacked the block-EPA plan but said he would allow the amendment to come up for a vote.
"The Senate [small-business] bill creates jobs, and I don't know why they would want to divert attention from that," Reid told reporters in the Capitol. "We will debate it, we will have a vote on it in due time. It is something that I don't favor, I think his amendment is very, very misguided."
McConnell's amendment language mirrors a bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and in the House by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.).
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the minority leader, is trying to attach the plan to small-business legislation that's currently on the Senate floor.
Reid attacked the block-EPA plan but said he would allow the amendment to come up for a vote.
"The Senate [small-business] bill creates jobs, and I don't know why they would want to divert attention from that," Reid told reporters in the Capitol. "We will debate it, we will have a vote on it in due time. It is something that I don't favor, I think his amendment is very, very misguided."
McConnell's amendment language mirrors a bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and in the House by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.).
The Hill: McConnell seeks Senate showdown on EPA climate rules
Tuesday March 15, 2011
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) moved Tuesday to force a political showdown over Environmental Protection Agency climate change regulations on the floor of the Senate.
McConnell introduced an amendment Tuesday to a small business bill that would permanently block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources like power plants and refineries. The small business bill is currently on the House floor.
"These new regulations would destroy jobs at a time when Americans need them most," McConnell said in a floor statement Tuesday. "And they'd be especially devastating for states like Kentucky and other coal states."
McConnell introduced an amendment Tuesday to a small business bill that would permanently block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources like power plants and refineries. The small business bill is currently on the House floor.
"These new regulations would destroy jobs at a time when Americans need them most," McConnell said in a floor statement Tuesday. "And they'd be especially devastating for states like Kentucky and other coal states."
WSJ Editorial: Congress gets ready to overrule the EPA on cap and trade rules.
Tuesday March 15, 2011
Get a load of this. Some Members of Congress actually think that Congress should have a say in whether or not the government regulates carbon. Some of them even want to have a debate about it first. Don't these yahoos understand that democratic consent doesn't apply to the Environmental Protection Agency?
Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee began debating a bill that would prohibit the EPA from abusing the clean air laws of the 1970s to impose the climate regulations that Congress has refused to pass despite President Obama's entreaties. As EPA chief Lisa Jackson put it with her customary reserve at a hearing last week, the measure "would presume to overrule the scientific community on the scientific finding that carbon pollution endangers Americans' health and well-being. Politicians overruling scientists on a scientific question . . ."
Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee began debating a bill that would prohibit the EPA from abusing the clean air laws of the 1970s to impose the climate regulations that Congress has refused to pass despite President Obama's entreaties. As EPA chief Lisa Jackson put it with her customary reserve at a hearing last week, the measure "would presume to overrule the scientific community on the scientific finding that carbon pollution endangers Americans' health and well-being. Politicians overruling scientists on a scientific question . . ."
POLITICO Pro: Poll: Public cooling to global warming
Monday March 14, 2011
Americans' concern over climate change continues to decline, according to a Gallup poll released Monday.
Only 51 percent of people surveyed in the annual poll described themselves as worried "a fair amount" or more about global warming, down from 66 percent in 2008.
The 51 percent overall figure is close to the Gallup's lowest score in the poll's 22-year history. The lowest was in 1998, when 50 percent of respondents expressed concern. The highest was in 2000, when 72 percent said they worried about warming.
One thing is consistent: concern over global warming remains highly partisan. Seventy-two percent of Democrats are worried about global warming, compared with 31 percent of Republicans.
Only 51 percent of people surveyed in the annual poll described themselves as worried "a fair amount" or more about global warming, down from 66 percent in 2008.
The 51 percent overall figure is close to the Gallup's lowest score in the poll's 22-year history. The lowest was in 1998, when 50 percent of respondents expressed concern. The highest was in 2000, when 72 percent said they worried about warming.
One thing is consistent: concern over global warming remains highly partisan. Seventy-two percent of Democrats are worried about global warming, compared with 31 percent of Republicans.
WSJ: EPA Tangles With New Critic: Labor
Monday March 14, 2011
WASHINGTON-The Obama administration's environmental agenda, long a target of American business, is beginning to take fire from some of the Democratic Party's most reliable supporters: Labor unions.
Several unions with strong influence in key states are demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency soften new regulations aimed at pollution associated with coal-fired power plants. Their contention: Roughly half a dozen rules expected to roll out within the next two years could put thousands of jobs in jeopardy and damage the party's 2012 election prospects.
"If the EPA issues regulations that cost jobs in Pennsylvania and Ohio, the Republicans will blast the President with it over and over," says Stewart Acuff, chief of staff to the president of the Utility Workers Union of America. "Not just the President. Every Democratic [lawmaker] from those states."
Several unions with strong influence in key states are demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency soften new regulations aimed at pollution associated with coal-fired power plants. Their contention: Roughly half a dozen rules expected to roll out within the next two years could put thousands of jobs in jeopardy and damage the party's 2012 election prospects.
"If the EPA issues regulations that cost jobs in Pennsylvania and Ohio, the Republicans will blast the President with it over and over," says Stewart Acuff, chief of staff to the president of the Utility Workers Union of America. "Not just the President. Every Democratic [lawmaker] from those states."
Bill Clinton: Drilling delays
Friday March 11, 2011
Former President Bill Clinton said Friday that delays in offshore oil and gas drilling permits are “ridiculous” at a time when the economy is still rebuilding, according to attendees at the IHS CERAWeek conference.
Clinton spoke on a panel with former President George W. Bush that was closed to the media. Video of their moderated talk with IHS CERA Chairman Daniel Yergin was also prohibited.
But according to multiple people in the room, Clinton, surprisingly, agreed with Bush on many oil and gas issues, including criticism of delays in permitting offshore since last year’s Gulf of Mexico spill.
Clinton spoke on a panel with former President George W. Bush that was closed to the media. Video of their moderated talk with IHS CERA Chairman Daniel Yergin was also prohibited.
But according to multiple people in the room, Clinton, surprisingly, agreed with Bush on many oil and gas issues, including criticism of delays in permitting offshore since last year’s Gulf of Mexico spill.
RAPID RESPONSE: EPA WILL RAISE GAS PRICES
Friday March 11, 2011
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson asserted today that the Energy Tax Prevention Act “would increase our oil dependence by hundreds of millions of gallons” because it would remove EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide from automobiles under the Clean Air Act - and thereby forgo “hundreds of millions of barrels of oil savings.” This is false.
Congress gave explicit authority to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish fuel economy in automobiles, otherwise known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards. The Energy Tax Prevention Act in no way restricts or impedes NHTSA’s authority over CAFE.
Congress gave explicit authority to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish fuel economy in automobiles, otherwise known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards. The Energy Tax Prevention Act in no way restricts or impedes NHTSA’s authority over CAFE.
