Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she intended to file a "disapproval resolution" to prevent EPA from regulating GHG emissions, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Murkowski was quoted as saying: "This finding is supposedly rooted in concerns about the public health and public welfare. But what it really endangers are jobs, economic recovery and American competitiveness." She added, "I believe that this option should be taken off the table, so that we can focus our attention on more viable policies."
EPA announced that it would publish its endangerment finding today in the Federal Register, opening the door for legal and legislative challenges such as Murkowski's, Greenwire reported. Legal challenges must be filed within 60 days with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., supported Murkowski's effort, the Pittsburg (Kansas) Morning Sun blog reported. He was quoted as saying: "Overreaching regulations like the EPA's endangerment finding will cause irreparable damage to our national economy. I support the Ranking Member's actions, and I will proudly co-sponsor this legislation once introduced. The Administration is attempting to promulgate regulations that will have the greatest negative effects on some of the most important sectors of our state economy."
The disapproval resolution was created as a provision of the Congressional Review Act of 1996, but is seldom used. After the resolution was introduced, it would be referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, according to a Murkowski aide. If the committee did not deal with it within 20 calendar days, it could go before the full Senate over the signatures of 30 senators.
- Related stories also appeared in E&E News PM, and The Hill.
