WASHINGTONU.S. Sen. John Cornyn R-Texas a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee today issued the following statement after agreeing to cosponsor a Resolution of Disapproval of the EPAs Endangerment Rule introduced by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and supported by a bipartisan group of Senators:
Its no surprise why the Obama Administrations Cap-and-Trade bill has been roundly rejected by the American people; it will kill jobs raise prices of consumer goods and increase energy costs. Despite this President Obama has chosen to ignore this message and instead of elected officials debating policy measures his EPA is forging ahead with a national energy tax through a back-door EPA endangerment rule. Texas urban and rural economies would be crushed under the sagging weight of these expansive new regulations. Congress can and must stop him" Sen. Cornyn said.
We are all committed to protecting the environment and pursuing alternative energy sources but obliterating our economy in the process is not an option. We lost 3.4 million jobs in the first year of the Obama administration. The last thing he should do is railroad through another ill-conceived policy that only stands to exacerbate that number and leave us more dependent than ever on foreign sources of energy" he added.
Disapproval Resolution:
Sen. Cornyn is an original cosponsor of S.J.RES.26 a joint resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the EPA relating to the endangerment finding and the cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act. This resolution if signed into law would prevent the regulation from going forward.
Background:
The EPA announced its final endangerment finding on December 7 2009 stating that greenhouse gases (GHGs) from mobile sources endanger human health and welfare.
This action will result in GHGs being regulated under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
The endangerment finding is in response to the Supreme Court ruling on Massachusetts v. EPA from 2007 which set the stage for mobile source GHG regulations. EPA intends to release these regulations in March.
- Once the EPA determines that carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from fossil fuel use as well as other GHGs endanger human health those gases must be
treated as regulated pollutants under the CAA. The first target is automobiles but after that almost any energy-using business could be included.
- The CAA would also include any stationary source that has the potential to emit 250 tons or more of any pollutant. The result would be a regulatory dragnet that captures even the smallest entities. The EPA has proposed a Tailoring Rule" to lift its regulatory thresholds to 25000 tons per year for greenhouse gases.
- This Tailoring Rule" represents a clear departure from the CAAs explicit requirements and has opened the agency to litigation.
- If EPA proceeds any entity that reaches the emissions threshold for GHGs (whether it ultimately be 250 or 25000 tons) would be required to obtain a permit through its state agency to construct a new building or make modifications to its existing structure.
- These regulations will be a significant hindrance for economic development due to delays in permitting.
