House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) have introduced a resolution of disapproval (HJ Res 76) that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from using its authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
The House version is identical to a measure introduced in the Senate in January by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (D-Alaska).
The two resolutions would use procedures under the Congressional Review Act to nullify EPA's December finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. That would halt the agency from finalizing regulations covering emissions from various sources, including power plants.
Sources say Murkowski is on track to have a mid-March floor vote on her proposal to block EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, but it is unclear whether she is closing in on the 51 votes she needs to pass it. But even if she reaches the 51-vote mark, Murkowski would need both the Democratic-controlled House and President Obama to approve her resolution to block the EPA emissions regulations, which even her supporters acknowledge is unlikely.
Meanwhile, Skelton said in a statement that Congress did not give EPA "the explicit authority" to regulate greenhouse gas emissions when it passed the Clean Air Act to address air pollution. EPA regulation of such emissions "would likely be very costly to farmers, business owners, Midwestern utilities, and consumers," he said.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases are in fact pollutants under the Clean Air Act and directed EPA either to issue an endangerment finding or to justify a decision not to.
Following the action by Skelton and Peterson, a group of 78 House Republicans, led by Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) says it plans to introduce a similar resolution.
It is unclear why Boehner and the other House Republicans felt they needed to introduce a resolution that already had been introduced. However, the fact that the first resolution was introduced by four Democrats and only one Republican may be an indication.
