NCC Provides Support for Murkowski Resolution
Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) introduced a bipartisan disapproval resolution to stop EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA) by repealing EPA’s finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger the public health and welfare.
In a NCC-coordinated letter to Sen. Murkowski, 137 other commodity and agricultural organizations declared their support for her effort. The breadth of support from agriculture encouraged several Democratic senators to cosponsor the resolution. The resolution currently has 37 cosponsors.
The agricultural groups’ letter to Sen. Murkowski noted that both the current and past Administrations have acknowledged that the CAA is not the appropriate vehicle for establishing greenhouse gas policy. They said this EPA endangerment finding will trigger a number of CAA regulatory actions.
“The compliance costs for these CAA programs,” the letter stated, “would be overwhelming as millions of entities, including farms and ranches, would be subject to burdensome CAA regulations. While EPA has attempted to craft a ‘tailoring rule’ to ease such a burden, our experience in these matters is that attempts to administratively relax environmental requirements are routinely challenged in court.”
The letter also pointed out that the EPA rule itself claims to establish only a weak, indirect link between greenhouse gases and public health and welfare, going so far as to admit there are uncertainties over the net, direct health impacts of the greenhouse gases it is attempting to regulate.
“Further, EPA Administrator Jackson recently acknowledged that unilateral actions by the United States would have no material impact on global warming,” the letter said. “China and India, two of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, continue to reject any verifiable reduction measures. Without an effective international agreement on emission reductions, unilateral action by the U.S. only serves to further damage our economy and encourage businesses to relocate. EPA's finding puts the agricultural economy at grave risk based on allegations of a weak, indirect link to public health and welfare and despite the lack of any environmental benefit.”
Sen. Murkowski is using the authority of the Congressional Review Act of 1996 which allows Congress to review every new federal regulation issued by government agencies. The law allows Congress to rescind a rule by passing a joint “resolution of disapproval.” It also establishes an expedited process for Senate passage where the resolution cannot be amended or filibustered, therefore, only needing 51 votes. The act does not provide for a similar fast-track in the House. The resolution requires presidential approval and can be invoked only within 60 days of the rule’s submittal to Congress. A resolution of disapproval only has been successfully used once previously, when Congress overturned OSHA’s ergonomic standards.
Sens. Lincoln (D-AR) and Chambliss (R-GA), chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, have agreed to cosponsor the Murkowski resolution. Sen. Landrieu (D-LA) also has announced her intention to support the resolution.
In a press statement, Sen. Lincoln said, “I am very concerned about the burden that EPA regulation of carbon emissions could put on our economy and have questions about the actual benefit EPA regulations would have on the environment. Heavy-handed EPA regulation, as well as the current cap and trade bills in Congress, will cost us jobs and put us at an even greater competitive disadvantage to China, India and others. We can make immediate gains to reduce carbon emissions by sending the President bipartisan clean energy legislation produced by the Senate Energy Committee.”
Sen. Chambliss said, “The actions EPA has taken and its plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions is basically a backdoor tax on every American family and business by unelected bureaucrats.”
An aide to Senate leader Reid (D-NV) said that the measure was unlikely to come to a vote before March because of a crowded legislative calendar. He also said that while Mr. Reid believes that legislation to address climate change is preferable to EPA regulation, the agency must retain the authority to act if Congress does not.
Sen. Boxer (D-CA), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a champion of cap-and-trade legislation, acknowledged that “it could take us a long time to get” a climate bill enacted. But the EPA-imposed regulations are necessary in the meantime, Boxer said. Shecalled Murkowski’s resolution an unprecedented “assault,” adding, “We cannot and must not repeal a scientific health finding.”
Rep. Barton (R-TX) plans to introduce an identical resolution in the House.
If the resolution were to make it through Congress, it is likely that PresidentObama would veto it. However, according to Congressional Quarterly, “[A] resolution of disapproval that garnered enough Democratic votes to pass the Senate could be a fatal blow to Obama’s efforts to enact a cap-and-trade climate bill this year.”