Isramart : House members seek to block EPA carbon limits

Isramart news:
Two senior Democrats in the U.S. House filed a resolution to block the Obama administration from regulating greenhouse gases on its own if a climate change bill fails to pass Congress soon.

The resolution of disapproval, filed on Thursday, is identical to a controversial resolution by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.

Both resolutions offer a fairly quick way to overturn Environmental Protection Agency proposals to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming.

The White House has already said it opposes any moves to handcuff the EPA, which it hopes will regulate greenhouse gasses if climate legislation continues to stall in Congress.

A climate bill has passed the House but efforts to pass legislation remains doubtful in the Senate because of strong Republican opposition and with Democrats nervous about elections in November.

A 1996 law allows Congress to void federal agency rules if lawmakers pass a joint resolution within 60 legislative work days after receiving the proposed rule.

House Armed Services Committee chairman Ike Skelton said the disapproval resolution would "keep EPA from threatening Congress with its own greenhouse gas policy as we write legislation."

Skelton said he would prefer "a more scaled-back bipartisan bill" than a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gases.

"A few weeks ago, we introduced a bill to change the underlying law and today's bill is intended to stop the EPA's regulatory actions," said Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson.
Missouri Republican Jo Ann Emerson joined Skelton and Peterson in filing the resolution. In early February, they filed a bill to say EPA cannot use air pollution laws to regulate six gases, including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. Bills usually takes months to pass.

Murkowski, sponsor of the Senate resolution, said the House resolution showed there was bipartisan opposition to EPA acting on its own.

Murkowski may ask for a Senate vote on her resolution in mid-March, said an aide. No date was set for a vote on the House resolution.

Murkowski has 40 co-sponsors, mostly Republicans, out of the 100-member Senate.

EPA said this week it would slow a phase-in of regulations that tackle carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and factories. EPA expects to issue the new rules at the end of March.

EPA opened the way for regulation of greenhouse gases under air pollution laws two months ago when it ruled the gases were a danger to human health.