Rep. Collin Peterson
Just a couple of weeks ago, Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced a resolution that would block the EPA from regulating carbon pollution. The Dirty Air Act was a blatant attempt to ignore the Clean Air Act, as well as a Supreme Court ruling.
Now, the House is trying to do the same.
Despite having already passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which would cap carbon emissions, some House members evidently believe that the EPA should not have that task. However, without Senate action, the EPA is the only agency prepared to do so.
More than one piece of legislation has been proposed, including this one, by three members, and this, by North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy, who voted against ACES.
Both are actually bills and not resolutions, as Murkowski’s is, and both are led by members with some contempt toward regulating greenhouse gases.
As mentioned, Pomeroy actually voted against ACES, one of the 44 Democrats to do so. Rep. Collin Peterson, one of the leads on the first bill, actually voted for ACES, but, as Kate Sheppard points out (via Grist), he did it only after holding the bill hostage for a while.
Peterson has also said he would vote against the bill if it came back to the House.
These are just the latest attempts to attack the Clean Air Act, something Murkowski has not been successful at so far. The EPA has continued with plans, included funding in the administration’s new budget, to fight global warming.
