Friday, February 04, 2011
Sen. James Inhofe (R--Okla.) (AP photo)
(CNSNews.com) – Republicans in both the House and Senate have introduced legislation that would prevent the government from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, staking out an early position on what will be an emerging issue in the newly minted Congress.
The bills – one from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and another from Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) – would both prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from using its regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate industrial emissions of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide.
The primary difference between the two bills is their scope. Barrasso’s bill, of which Inhofe is a cosponsor, would prohibit the entire federal government from regulating greenhouse gases in any way in addition to preventing lawsuits based on a company’s emission of greenhouse gases.
The Inhofe-Upton bill would merely prohibit the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases, based on the agency’s finding that they endanger the environment. Both bills would explicitly repeal that regulatory finding, ensuring that future administrations could not use the finding again.
Both bills are part of a renewed effort to prohibit the EPA from taking action to control greenhouse gas emissions after Congress declined to act on the issue. The House passed so-called Cap and Trade legislation regulating greenhouse gas emissions, but the Senate did not take the measure up – declining to even bring up the House bill in committee.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said at the hearing that the regulations being issued by the EPA are 'job crushing.' (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)
Currently, the EPA has the power to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases from mobile and stationary sources. It has already issued regulations for mobile sources – cars and trucks – but has only hinted at doing so for industrial sources such as power plants and factories.
Both the Barrasso and Inhofe-Upton bills would stop the EPA from issuing what Republicans describe as job-killing greenhouse gas regulations.
“It’s time for the Administration to face the facts: Americans rejected cap and trade because they know it means higher energy prices and lost jobs,” Barrasso said in a statement announcing his efforts. “Congress must step in and stand up for the American people.”
Upton and Inhofe pointed out that the potential regulations would have no impact on global climate – saying they would only hurt the American economy.
“We firmly believe federal bureaucrats should not be unilaterally setting national climate change policy, and with good reason: EPA’s cap-and-trade tax agenda will cost jobs, undermine the competitiveness of America’s manufacturers, and, as EPA has conceded, will have no meaningful impact on climate. In other words, all cost with no benefit,” they said in a press release.
The potential regulations would not only affect power plants but any large industrial operation including farms, auto manufacturers, and other large industries by capping the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases they emit.
Neither bill prohibits states – such as California – from regulating greenhouse gases nor do they repeal the CAFÉ vehicle emissions standards already in effect.
Both bills also preserve EPA’s authority to enforce the Clean Air Act when it comes to air pollution, even if the pollutants are also greenhouse gases. If EPA found that certain greenhouse gases were harmful when inhaled for instance, they could still regulate them.
However, EPA would not be able to regulate greenhouse gases in the name of fighting climate change, as it currently is allowed to do.
CNS News
