House votes to weaken Obama’s climate rule By Timothy Cama and Cristina Marcos

House votes to weaken Obama’s climate rule By Timothy Cama and Cristina Marcos

The House voted Wednesday to delay the Environmental Protection Agency's climate rule for power plants and let state governors opt out of complying.

The bill, passed 247-180, is a major blow to the main pillar of President Obama's effort to reduce the greenhouse gases that cause climate change, although the White House has promised a veto to protect his legacy.

Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's power subpanel, sponsored the legislation as House Republicans' principal response to the EPA's climate rule. The rule has become the most controversial aspect of the Obama administration's environmental policy, and one of its most controversial regulations.

Under the bill, state governors could opt out of adopting state plans for the EPA's regulation if such a plan would harm electricity rates, reliability or important economic sectors in the states.
The regulation's enforcement would also be delayed until all court challenges are resolved.

The GOP believes that the rule will not withstand judicial review, so the delay is designed to ensure that the regulation never takes effect.

"They've picked up a shotgun and pointed it at the heart of the American economy, our power generation," Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) said of the EPA.

But Democrats warned it would ultimately gut the regulation intended to help mitigate the effects of climate change.

"This 'just say no' bill would effectively give governors the power to sabotage EPA's proposed clean power plan by allowing them to opt out of the federal requirements of the plan based on arbitrary and ambiguous determinations," said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.).

The EPA proposed the regulation last June, and plans to make it final this August. It seeks a 30 percent cut in the carbon emissions of the nation's power plants by 2030, with specific targets assigned to each state.

Regulators will give states 13 months to draft plans to hit their targets. If they don't, the EPA will write its own plans and impose them — something the GOP is trying to prevent.

"Earlier we heard the gentleman from Illinois say that this was a 'just say no' bill," Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) said in response to Rush. "You bet it is. That's exactly what it is. It's a 'just say no' bill. No to a weaker electric grid. No to fewer jobs, particularly in manufacturing and also in the coal and energy industries."

The White House sees the bill as a threat to the centerpiece of Obama's climate legacy, and it has threatened a veto.            http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/246053-house-votes-to-weaken-obamas-climate-rule

Re: House votes to weaken Obama’s climate rule By Timothy Cama and Cristina Marcos

There are too many rules and regulations now.

Time to start getting rid of many of them.

Re: House votes to weaken Obama’s climate rule By Timothy Cama and Cristina Marcos

All Obama is doing these last two years is trying to protect his legacy even if destroys America.   Of course I know he has been trying to destroy America ever since he was elected, but now he is running out of time and no one can stop him, and Congress doesen't have the back bone to do anything about him.