Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mass. v. EPA and absent new federal climate legislation, the EPA has begun to create rules to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Now Greenwire is reporting that the new Congress may attempt to block EPA climate rules pursued under the Clean Air Act. The article states:
For the Republicans, the first order of business could be legislation to stop EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Supporters of measures to block EPA’s climate regulations say it is a foregone conclusion that the Republican-controlled House will pass such a bill during the next session. And in the Senate, where Democrats have spent the past two years bemoaning the rule requiring 60 votes to defeat a filibuster, that threshold appears to be the only thing that could stop such a measure from passing.
The article then provides this useful table. The key question is whether the Dems have 40 votes and the intestinal fortitude to use at least 40 votes to filibuster any attempts to stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.
| From Greenwire:
Counting the ‘Ayes’ |
| Based on previous stances and the results of yesterday’s election, a measure to prevent EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act would be likely garner at least 57 votes in the Senate during the next session, close observers say. That number includes the entire bloc of 47 Republican senators, the eventual winner of the Senate race in Alaska and at least 9 Democrats who have already pledged their support for one or more proposal. They are: |
| Voted for Murkowski resolution (4) |
Mary Landrieu (D-La.)
Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)
Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)
Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) |
| Co-sponsored Rockefeller bill (6) |
Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)
Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)
Tim Johnson (D-S.D.)
Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)
Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)
Jim Webb (D-Va.) |
| Critical newcomers (1) |
| Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) |
|
JASON J. CZARNEZKI 