Senate Rejects Clean Air Act Resolution
June 15, 2010 National Cotton Council
Cotton’s Week
After six hours of heated debate, the Senate narrowly rejected (47-53) a resolution sponsored by Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) which would have prevented EPA from moving forward to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Six Democrats – Landrieu (LA), Lincoln (AR), Pryor (AR), Nelson (NE), Bayh (IN) and Rockefeller (WV) – joined all Republican Senators in support of the effort.
During the debate, Sen. Murkowski argued the EPA is overreaching its powers, saying it has control of the nation’s energy and climate policy instead of Congress.
Although environmentalists are expressing relief with the vote, Sen. Murkowski may have still made an impact with her effort. With her resolution garnering 47 votes, it seems difficult that a strong comprehensive climate bill could get the necessary 60 votes. Also, Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) had to cut a few deals to prevent even more conservative Democrats from voting for the resolution, including a future vote on a bill by Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV) that would delay all EPA regulations on greenhouse gases for at least two years.
Prior to the Senate consideration, NCC President/CEO Mark Lange sent a letter to Cotton Belt Senators urging adoption of the resolution. The letter stated that without relief from Congress, EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act would impose a severe economic impact on the US cotton industry including “increased costs of production, inability to generate offsets, increased processing costs for ginning and textile production, and market disadvantages with its international competitors in India, China and Brazil who do not incur such regulatory burdens.”
“While the EPA set out to regulate only mobile sources (motor vehicles), the overlapping triggers within the Clean Air Act will immediately extend the agency’s regulatory reach to stationary sources as well as giving it authority to regulate all greenhouse gas emissions,” Lange said in the letter. “President Obama, (EPA) Administrator Jackson, and Members on both sides of the aisle have said throughout the climate debate that the Clean Air Act is not the appropriate vehicle for regulating greenhouse gas emissions and that this issue should be decided by Congress. S.J. Res. 26 offers the clearest and most sensible approach to assure this occurs.”
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