Pressure is mounting against the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) bid to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act. And with so many members of Congress involved, a scorecard is needed to keep track of the action.
Yesterday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced legislation to suspend EPA's proposed GHG stationary-source regulations for two years. In a statement, Sen. Rockefeller said:
"Congress, not the EPA, must be the ideal decision-maker on such a challenging issue...We must set this delay in stone and give Congress enough time to consider a comprehensive energy bill..."
Similar legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Nick Rahall (D-WV), Alan Mollohan (D-WV), and Rick Boucher (D-VA).
The United Mine Workers of America union voiced its support for Rockefeller's bill. In a letter, union President Cecil Roberts stated that the Clean Air Act was "not designed to address" climate change.
Likewise, the National Automobile Dealers Association and a large group of Ohio-based businesses and trade associations penned separate letters expressing their objections to EPA's proposed regulations. The Ohio letter, which was sent to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), says allowing the EPA to regulate GHGs "would be inflexible and cost prohibitive, thereby hurting Ohio businesses, workers and families."
This flurry of activity prompted Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to issue a statement pointing out the bipartisan "resistance to EPA's back-door climate regulations." Murkowski introduced a resolution of disapproval in the Senate several days ago to prevent EPA from moving forward on GHG regulations.
This week Reps. Ike Skelton (D-MO), Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) introduced an identical resolution in the House, while Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Joe Barton (R-TX) introduced a similar resolution calling the proposed regulations a "back door national energy tax."
There are scores of members of the Senate and the House--Democrats and Republicans--who have gone on the record against EPA's current path toward GHG regulations. At last count, the various measures have a total 330 sponsors and cosponsors.













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