Senate Dems: Overturning Cross-State Pollution Regulations Unfair

By Janie Amaya

Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)  fear that efforts to prevent EPA regulation of cross-state air pollution from taking effect may put their states at a significant disadvantage.

A statement released by Sen. Carper’s office notes, “If this legislation is passed and signed into law, it would remove the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule from the books- leaving Delaware, Rhode Island and other downwind states to continue breathing dirty air from neighboring states.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has taken action to require a Senate vote on legislation to formally overturn the newly formed Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which, according to the EPA, “requires 27 states to significantly improve air quality by reducing power plant emissions that contribute to ozone and/or fine particle pollution in other states.”

Paul has maintained that the regulation is out of step with the data on air pollution and will levy an unfair burden on manufacturers.

During a conference call Monday, Whitehouse said he hopes all Senators from downwind states help resists the passage of the resolution, noting that it is inherently unfair to their states.

“We are on the receiving end of this,” Whitehouse said. “It really isn’t fair cause we have to compete with these states for product manufacturing and for jobs and what they are doing is burning low cost fuels, dumping the pollution on us and also taking jobs away.”

Carper noted that overturning the regulation would be especially problematic for his state, explaining that 90 percent of air pollution came from sources outside of Delaware. 

Fourth Cain Employee Alleges Harassment

A fourth former National Restaurant Association employee is alleging sexual harassment charges against its former CEO, Presidential hopeful Herman Cain.

According to Gloria Allred, an attorney well-known for taking on women’s rights issues, the latest accuser will share her identity and account of the incident during a press conference in New York City Monday.

Early last week, Cain, a top tier GOP candidate, was revealed by Politico to have faced sexual harassment allegations from at least two employees during the 1990s. Although Cain maintains that he has never sexually harassed anyone, settlement payments were made. A third woman told the Associated Press last week that she was harassed by Cain, but did not take any formal action.

Paul Upset With Obama's Executive Orders

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) today criticized President Obama’s recent string of executive orders aimed at providing economic relief to certain sectors of the public.

In a statement, the Republican presidential candidate accused Obama of ignoring the Constitution by issuing orders intended to lower loan payments for students and mortgage payments for homeowners, and help put returning veterans back to work.

“The current administration has unabashedly stated that Congress’s unwillingness to pass the president’s jobs bill means that the president will act unilaterally to enact provisions of it piecemeal through Executive Order,” Paul said. “Obama explicitly threatens to bypass Congress, thus aggregating the power to make and enforce laws in the executive.  This clearly erodes the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances. It brings the modern presidency dangerously close to an elective dictatorship.”

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White House Rejects House Subpoena

President Obama’s top lawyer wrote to House Republicans on Friday, accusing them of playing politics by seeking additional administration documents relating to a $535 million loan given to now-bankrupt Solyndra.

In a letter to the two GOP-led committees that voted to issue a subpoena, White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler called the move “unnecessary.”

“I can only conclude that your decision to issue a subpoena, authorized by a party line vote, was driven more by partisan politics than than a legitimate effort to conduct a responsible investigation,” Ruemmler wrote.

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Bipartisan Effort Underway To Oppose Employee-Sponsored Health-Benefit Taxes

Representatives  Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) sent a bipartisan letter to the Super Committee on Friday urging its members not to incorporate new taxes on employer-sponsored health benefits in their effort to reduce the deficit.

“Efforts to cap or to eliminate these tax exclusions would have far reaching consequences that would not only reduce health coverage for millions of Americans, but would also increase long-term federal spending obligations,” the letter argued. 

“Considering these consequences would negate federal tax income generated from the change and would have little impact on reducing our federal debt,” the letter continued, “we would encourage you to reject proposals to scale back or eliminate tax exclusions for employer-sponsored health coverage.”

The bipartisan letter was cosigned by 160 House members.