The U.S. Senate voted 53-47 to reject a resolution introduced by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that would have stopped the E.P.A. from regulating carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act, according to press reports. The E.P.A. issued a finding last year that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health, and therefore fall under the agency’s regulator mandate. The legislation, referred to as the ‘Dirty Air Act’ by its opponents, was seen as largely symbolic, as it had faced a promised veto from the Obama administration that would not have been subject to filibuster.
However, by garnering 47 votes in favor of the bill, including six Democrats, Republican lawmakers demonstrated that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve a filibuster-proof majority in favor of Senator Kerry’s upcoming comprehensive climate bill.
Democrats Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and John Rockefeller of West Virginia, all crossed the aisle to vote in favor of Murkowski’s resolution.
Murkowski had argued that Congress needs to develop its own approach to greenhouse gas emissions, and that the E.P.A.’s regulatory approach represents “the worst option.”
The Union of Concerned Scientists (U.C.S.), Greenpeace, The Sierra Club, and The Natural Resource Defense Council (N.R.D.C.) all praised the decision.
“Passing a resolution pretending the agency never made that finding can't erase the facts. The E.P.A. is right to start regulating these emissions as soon as possible,” said U.C.S. President Kevin Knobloch in a statement. Knobloch contended that passage of the bill would have had far reaching consequence. “Besides letting power plants and factories continue to emit dangerous pollutants, it would have jeopardized the historic agreement that set the first joint fuel economy and global warming tailpipe standards.” The U.C.S. had sent a letter to Congress signed by almost 2,000 scientists urging defeat bill.
Kyle Ash, a Greenpeace representative, said passing the bill would have gutted regulations on fuel efficiency. “American cars would remain gas-guzzlers and oil companies would profit,” Ash said in a press release. He also criticized upcoming efforts to restrict the Clean Air Act. “The next attack against the Clean Air Act in the Senate will be led by Senator Rockefeller, who is supported by other Democratic Senators that voted against Murkowski.” Rockefeller’s bill would delay implementation of the E.P.A. finding by two years.
“The Gulf Coast disaster only adds to the reasons why the Senate needs to step up and adopt comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this summer,” N.R.D.C. President Frances Beinecke said in a statement praising defeat of the bill. “That is what the American people want. A recent poll from Yale and George Mason universities shows that 77 percent of Americans support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant.”
The National Petrochemical & Refiners Association criticized the defeat of the bill, calling the result “economically devastating” and that failure to repeal E.P.A. authority would “strike a terrible blow to American families worried about the cost of fueling their cars, American workers worried about losing their jobs, and American manufacturers worried about being forced to shut their doors and lay off employees.”
