Posted by
Defend America on Friday, March 05, 2010 3:53:40 PM
Lawmakers move to restrain EPA on climate change
By Juliet Eilperin and David A. Fahrenthold
Friday, March 5, 2010
As climate change legislation stalled in the Senate, the Obama
administration noted that it had a workable -- although admittedly
unwieldy -- Plan B. If Congress wouldn't cap U.S. emissions, officials
said, the Environmental Protection Agency would do it instead.
Now, even Plan B may be in trouble.
On Thursday, Sen. John D. Rockefeller
IV (D-W.Va.) introduced a bill that would put a two-year freeze on the
EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants. His was
the latest of various congressional proposals -- from both chambers and
both parties -- designed to delay or overturn the EPA's regulations.
It is unclear how far Rockefeller's bill will go. Even if it passed, it could face a presidential veto.
But environmentalists are worried that the measure could attract
moderate Democrats, who are worried, in turn, about driving up the
prices of fossil fuels such as oil and coal.
And, in a broader sense, activists are concerned about a loss of momentum for action on climate change.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/04/AR2010030404715.html