Republicans, White House At Odds Over EPA Regulations

By Mario Trujillo

Republicans are clashing with the White House over the EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases, arguing that not only is it outside the agency’s authority, but that such a move would stifle industry as well. 

Republican Senator James Inhofe (Ok.) joined EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in testifying before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday and said EPA regulations would cost hundreds of billions of dollars and do little to reduce the Earth’s temperature. 

“The EPA … found that its regulations covering CO2 from cars would reduce global temperatures by .0006 degrees Celsius by 2100,” Inhofe said in his prepared statement. “In other words: no effect.”

Inhofe also said there is agreement based on approximately 15 studies that regulation of greenhouse gases cost the nation between $300 billion and $400 billion.

“Some from the EPA have agreed to that,” Inhofe explained. 

To combat the possibility of additional EPA regulations, House Republicans are pursuing the Energy Tax Prevention Act, introduced by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mi.) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.).  Inhoffe is proposing companion legislation in the Senate.

In her prepared statement Wednesday, Jackson said “I am committed as head of the EPA to enforcing the Clean Air Act, but doing it in a way that is modest and moderate and is mindful of our economy at the same time.”

However, Jackson could not give a price tag for adopting the regulations. The EPA does economic analysis of rules and regulations before enacting them, but Jackson said she could not give a hypothetical economic analysis before rules are proposed. 

Though focusing primarily on the economic outlook of the bill, at some points the hearing slid into an outright debate of the cause of global warming and the EPA’s ability to regulate it’s proposed cause — greenhouse gas emissions.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the EPA has the ability to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act unless “it determines that greenhouse gases do not contribute to climate change.”

The EPA released findings a little over a year ago that concluded that greenhouse gases did have an adverse effect on the environment, the public health and welfare. Those findings were based on studies by a United Nations organization that was involved in the scandal “climategate.”

Jackson said that the scandal had no effect on the conclusions that greenhouse gases have a harmful effect on the environment, which forced the EPA to regulate them. But Inhofe and other Republicans said the data is marred by the controversy.