Dems Assail Effort To Jam New EPA Regs

A group of Senate Democrats blasted legislation put forth by Republicans this week aimed at blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), who chairs its Energy subcommittee, co-sponsored the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011. Sens. Jim Infofe (R-Okla.) followed suit by introducing a nearly-identical measure in the Senate.

The legislation was met with scorn from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who heads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

“This bill is an assault on the Clean Air Act and threatens the health and well-being of all Americans,” she said in a statement. “This bill is out of step with the American public who strongly support environmental safeguards.”

Democratic Senators Tom Carper (Del.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), Tom Udall (N.M.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Ben Cardin (Md.) all released similarly-worded statements condemning the bill.

While the House measure is likely to pass, the Senate version is not. Right now, Inhofe has the support of 42 Republicans in his chamber, along with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who since taking office has pledged to fight so-called “cap-and-trade” rules.

Republicans insist that the legislation won’t hinder the EPA’s ability to protect the environment under the Clean Air Act, but instead will simply stop it from regulating greenhouse emissions. Lawmakers on the right have warned that allowing EPA to move forward would paralyze job creation.

In addition, in their 2011 budget that passed last month, House Republicans shaved the EPA’s operating budget for the remainder of the year by nearly 30%.