Upton: EPA Has No Business Regulating Carbon Emissions

By Mario Trujillo

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said he believes the earth is indeed warming, but is not a direct effect of carbon emissions.

Joined by fellow Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Upton proposed draft legislation last week that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating carbon emissions using the Clean Air Act.

“Congress ought to have that responsibility, not the bureaucracy at EPA,” Upton said at a discussion at the Newseum on Tuesday. “Now what the EPA is trying to do is act like it passed and to be able to, in fact,  regulate greenhouse gasses.”

A bill that would’ve placed restrictions on carbon output passed the Democratically-controlled House last summer by a narrow margin, but it did not survive the Senate.

Upton’s committee will host EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to discuss those issues Wednesday. As a preview, Jackson spoke at the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works last week, holding a contrary view to Upton.

Referring to the “climategate” controversy Jackson said “that data did not change the basic science that manmade emissions are changing our climate, changing our atmosphere, degrading it to the point that it is impacting our planet.”

While he looks to stop the EPA from taxing and regulating carbon emissions, Upton said he does supports other “green energy” initiatives.

“I am a strong supporter of nuclear power, which of course has no greenhouse gas emissions,” Upton said. “There are a number of different things we can do that I think promotes nuclear power. I’ve supported wind and solar. I support clean coal.”

Upton will also hold hearings on a bill banning federal funding for abortion in the healthcare law, which he said would codify an executive order President Obama signed last year.

The bill does not go as far as Rep. Chris Smith’s (R-N.J.) legislation that would ban taxpayer funded elective abortion inside and out of the new healthcare law.