Republican legislation that passed the House this week to delay the administration’s climate rules could quickly be reduced to a messaging bill.
The House approved the legislation, the Ratepayer Protection Act, on Wednesday 247-180. But it faces an uncertain road in the Senate, where the voting process is much more arduous.
In addition, the White House says Obama would veto the legislation.
But that appears to be OK with the bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky. He says that even if the bill is vetoed, it sends an important message to voters on the dangers of “radical regulations” and lends a hand to the GOP’s presidential election strategy.
“The president may veto it, but at least going into the 2016 elections the American people need to be aware of the consequences of radical regulations like this and the impact they can have,” Whitfield told reporters ahead of the vote Wednesday.
The bill gives states the ability to opt out of EPA’s climate rules for existing power plants, known as the Clean Power Plan. The plan is the centerpiece of the president’s climate agenda, which the GOP argues would raise electricity rates and harm grid reliability if implemented. It also would delay compliance until the courts have reviewed the regulation.
Whitfield says the plan is “illegal,” representing a “power grab” that extends EPA’s regulatory reach beyond its Clean Air Act authority. The EPA rules take the unprecedented step of regulating emissions through the state, rather than individual power plants. It requires states to reduce emissions 30 percent by 2030.
Meanwhile, the Senate has a companion bill, but it hasn’t made it through the committee process. The bill is bipartisan, having been introduced by West Virginia Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat.
Capito is holding hearings on the harmful effects of the Clean Power Plan and the need for her legislation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who also is from a coal-mining state, supports Capito’s bill, but it is uncertain what his strategy will be to move it once it hits the floor.
Capito’s strategy seems to be to acquire more co-sponsors as it makes its way through committee. She said this week that she has 30 co-sponsors. The number of supporters is key to reaching the necessary 60 votes required to move the bill to debate, let alone pass it. But Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the minority leader and a staunch advocate of global warming policy, is likely to rally to the aid of the EPA and block the Capito bill.
Democrats on the House floor Wednesday tried in vain to block the bill. In the House, cloture is not an issue and bills can be passed based on which party has the majority.
During debate, Democrats tried to persuade the GOP to give up on the Whitfield bill and focus instead on substantive legislation that would deal with carbon pollution.
Outside of a substantive climate change bill, Democrats argued the Ratepayer measure is just a “messaging” bill.
Advocates lobbying Congress this week to pass a carbon tax say the EPA regulations aren’t the best way to deal with global warming. They say the Whitfield bill could give them an opening to begin a dialogue on an alternative solution.
The group Citizens Climate Lobby managed to sidetrack Whitfield’s pre-vote press conference on Thursday to ask him if he would support a carbon tax.
Whitfield explained that the House passed comprehensive cap-and-trade legislation in 2009 that stalled in the Senate. He said he would not support a bill like that, which would set a hard limit on emissions and create a trading program in which coal plants and other emitters would buy credits to comply. Many scientists believe that the greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning fossil fuels are driving manmade climate change.
He would not comment on a carbon tax, which places a price on the amount of carbon pollution, which all sources would pay. It is thought to be the easiest solution to resolve carbon concerns, and many conservative think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute are examining it.
Paul Thompson with the Citizens Climate group sees the EPA rules getting held up in the courts and said regulation would only cause polarization. Instead, he said the carbon tax provides a good chance for bipartisan support in Congress.
Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, opposed Whitfield’s legislation in a floor speech. “I rise in opposition,” he said, but not because he thinks the EPA rules are the best solution for climate change. He said he recognizes there are issues with the regulations, but the Ratepayer bill is not the right path to address them.
“I suggest we craft a bill to address climate change,” Green said. He said he would rather sit down “with all sides” to develop a comprehensive plan and do it in a way that doesn’t harm the economy or the environment.
