Via press release from:
Senators to Vote on Whether to Cede Congressional Authority to the EPA
Washington, D.C. – Senators will soon consider a resolution to pare back an Environmental Protection Agency plan to regulate greenhouse gases – a plan that would raise energy costs.
On June 10, the U.S. Senate will consider a “resolution of disapproval” regarding a 2009 ruling made by the EPA in late 2009 claiming six greenhouse gases are a threat to public health. This makes these gases — carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride — subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act.
“The EPA’s endangerment finding endangers our economy and our liberty,” said Deneen Borelli, full-time fellow with the Project 21 black leadership network. “The EPA’s effort to regulate greenhouse gases will affect virtually every aspect of our economy and our lives. In expert opinion, this will result in higher energy costs and job losses while having — by their own admission — virtually no effect on cooling global climate.”
Senate Joint Resolution 26, introduced by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), would use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the administrative ruling. This would allow elected representatives to deliberate and pass their own regulations as Congress sees fit.
“I don’t want an unelected bureaucrat imposing rules and regulations on businesses that are essentially a tax on energy and will be passed along to consumers — many of whom are just getting by as it is,” said Tom Borelli, director of the Free Enterprise Project of the National Center for Public Policy Research.
“Opposition to the cap-and-trade bill that was jammed through the House of Representatives is one of the key positions of the tea parties, and this endangerment finding is cap-and-trade by other means,” noted Deneen Borelli. “Americans are already skeptical enough of lawmakers these days. Watching them pass up an opportunity to do what they were sent to Washington for will restore no lost faith in the government.”
“This resolution is a major indicator of where our republic is headed. Senators will determine if they are going to cede their authority as an elected representative of the people to largely unaccountable bureaucrats,” added Tom Borelli. “While the White House is eager for the EPA to seize regulatory authority, rank-and-file Americans such as those found in the tea party movement are troubled and will be watching to see who will be for and who will be against this massive federal power grab.”
The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-profit, free-market think-tank established in 1982 and funded primarily by the gifts of over 100,000 recent individual contributors. Less than one percent of funding is received from corporations.
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“The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-profit, free-market think-tank established in 1982 and funded primarily by the gifts of over 100,000 recent individual contributors. Less than one percent of funding is received from corporations.”
I suppose all those 100,000 individuals were given money by big oil to make the donations?
So, how many of our fine senators will vote for this resolution do you suppose? And even if it passes, does it have any power in law, as a resolution, or only give them an out at election time to say they voted for it? We must change the system that allows favors to be given by our elected representatives in return for money given to them by special interests. That is the only real solution to our problems. Until then we will continue to have the proverbial fox watching the henhouse. Unfortunately, with the news media 80% left wing only money can fight the disinformation being put out by the media. And there-in lies the big problem. Perhaps if all political speech protected by the 1st ammendment was required to be the written word, we would have a better chance as at least we would eliminate a great many of the left wing voters reading propaganda from the press as we know that many cannot read. Anyone have any other ideas on how to fix this problem?
See Sen. Mukorski’s Disapproval Resolution.
Mukorski’s press release:
Sen. Murkowski Offers Disapproval Resolution to Block EPA Endangerment of Economy Legislative Veto of Agency Rule will Take Worst Option for Reducing Emissions off Table
See: Murkowski Resolution Could Block EPA Power Grab
If there is a single act of government that should bring the Obama administration to its knees, it is the EPA’s power grab from elected officials.
Not only are the voters of America not considered smart enough to decide for themselves, but now their elected representatives are not either. Only the EPA has the right to decide.
So tell me, how do you know that your government is a fascist government?
From Wikipedia:
“Fascist governments forbid and suppress openness and opposition to the fascist state and the fascist movement.”
p.s. – I’m not even an American citizen and this is driving me nuts. Come on America, this is 10x more divisive and destructive than the healthcare debate. Voice your opinion to your representatives. Don’t let bureaucrats control you freedom.
Trevor, could you explain the following to me? I can’t figure why big oil likes cap and trade so much:
“As for the idea that cap and tax is the best way to punish BP and Big Oil, it’d be more convincing if Kerry-Lieberman hadn’t been written in concert with ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell and-bad-timing department-BP. “Ironically, we’ve been working very closely with some of these oil companies in the last months,” Mr. Kerry said in early May.
The Senator from Nantucket added that “they’ve acted in good faith and they’ve worked hard with us to try to find a way to get us to a solution that meets all of our needs.” Lobbyists for the three oil majors were regular visitors to Mr. Kerry’s closed-door negotiations”
The continued deference to unelected, agenda driven beauracrats amounts to taxation without representation.
People with short memory spans should be reminded that has caused a few problems in this country – but not for a while.
<sigh>
Oops. I just emitted some CO2 without a permit.
Senators to Vote on Whether to Cede Congressional Authority to the EPA
What idiot would do that?
It sure looks like the EPA power grab reeks of taxation and punitive taxation. The other way to remove power they grab is in court.
One day they will be asked to prove that CO2 is harmful.
Rahm Emanuel lives in an apartment funded by Big Oil Leaker BP. BP’s pr firm carries the tab.
Ed_B says:
June 7, 2010 at 11:15 am
Trevor, could you explain the following to me? I can’t figure why big oil likes cap and trade so much:
If I can speak for Trevor, my response would be fairly simple and straightforward. They have seen the direction this country has been heading for some time now. With that in mind, they are essentially getting on board to help lessen the damage as well as to maximize the amount of time they can look for loopholes and various means of passing on their new expenses to the customers. They are not so much in favor of Cap and Trade as they are in favor of damage control and finding new ways to increase profits.
Since when, non elected individuals, like those EPA, have the right to govern upon people? In any case they could only advice and recommend but never enforce.
Isn’t any gas molecule with 3 or more atoms a ‘greenhouse gas’ i.e. absorbs IR energy?
Cart blanche.
Can you imagine if J.”Death Trains” Hansen had decisive authority? deniers concentration and reeducation camps would flourish everywhere.
Ed_B it’s quite simple, get in on the ground floor or be froze out.
I was listening to one of our congressmen and there is an out for legislators on this. Can’t remember the details but legislators do have the power to overturn agency decisions without passing law. It was put in place to prevent just such a thing as the EPA from taking over almost everything in our lives.
Technically one of my Senators is Specter, although I clearly remember electing a Republican so this guy ain’t him. Since he lost the primary with Obama’s help (yup, that’s the wording I wanted) he’s got nothing to lose, and with one of the most noticeable notes of his political legacy being his recent vote for the Stimulus Boondoggle I doubt he’s going to be open to recommendations from us mere peon constituents to stop the EPA madness. Especially considering his best shot for a political-type job anywhere is an appointment by this current Administration as an apology for the primary. (You should have seen the reactions to the ads where Obama said how much he needs people like Specter in Washington. GW Bush went to late in his second term before his support could kill an election like that.)
Arlen Specter, US Ambassador to the Maldives. A temporary job to a temporary place… 😉
Ed_B says “I can’t figure why big oil likes cap and trade so much.”
Of course I do not speak from personal knowledge, but there are several possible reasons that come immediately to mind.
The most obvious is that perhaps the petroleum companies have bought enough politicians that the carbon credits they receive from the government will exceed their actual needs and they can sell the remainder for quick cash.
A second possibility is that the same group of controling owners and investors in the major oil companies are also owners and investors in the organizations which will be performing the cap and trade functions. Which is better, being a successful gambler or actually owning the casino?
Another possibility is that acceptance of cap and trade will be a major influence on the acceptance of carbon dioxide sequestration proposals. If companies prefer to seperate and sequester CO2 rather than pay fees in the cap and trade market, how will the CO2 be sequestered? Most likely it will be injected into old oil fields to pressurize the remaining petroleum and force it to the surface. The oil companies will be paid twice, first for sequestering the CO2 and then paid for selling all the oil that it squeezes to the surface.
There are, no doubt, a LOT of ways that a group of extraordinarily bright, wealthy, politically powerful and sociopathic individuals can game the system to their advantage. Use some creativity while you consider the subject!
A few Democrats will vote for the resolution (for use as an electoral fig leaf), and it may even pass. But those Democrats who vote for it will then refuse to actually do anything about it when the EPA thumbs their nose at the Senate resolution.
So nothing will happen unless the Republicans gain control of the Senate in November and threaten to ‘de-fund’ EPA activities they disagree with. But it looks like they will come up one or two seats short of control, so prepare to either hold your breath…. or apply for an emissions permit. Idiocy rules.
So with a stroke of a pen, democracy is given up.
If you Americans dont remove CO2 from that list, you might be forced to walk around with a gas-mask and a limestone container on your backs!
And on the container, you will read…..Made in China.
As much as those who voted for cap-and-trade would like to forget it, this will be a hot issue in November and some will lose their seats. This resolution is turning up the political burner. I know how I’m going to vote. Good science has no effect on most politicians but votes do.
To answer Jim G. – even if passed by the Senate, would this be binding? Of course not, this is just a resolution, it has no effect of law. Remember, to be law the same thing would have to be passed by the House AND signed by the President. That ain’t happening. So it’s just “aspirational” which is a fancy word for BS.
But it IS a nice political shot across the bow; anyone who votes against it is going to have to explain that in their political campaign this fall. Also, it lets the EPA know what might be on the radar if the GOP retakes the House this fall.
Still, trying to take over the regulatory function is not good policy, can’t keep that up. Better and much cleaner to simply cut EPA’s budget by 75% until they agree to get a little bit more inline with what Congress wants them to do. There is no doubt at all about the authority or ability of Congress to do that, if they want. And that’s the traditional tool of choice whenever any executive branch agency starts to think they can do whatever they want.
Enneagram – the executive branch IS the enforcement branch, that’s not in question. The problem is that they are both legislating AND enforcing today. They also make administrative judgments, which means they are usurping the tasks of all three branches of government. That’s just wrong, and they need to be pulled back sharply.
Another good question is why Kerry and Liberman would talk to big oil about the cap and trade bill. See my first comment on this page for the answer. Cap and trade is just another way for our fine elected reps to obtain money from special interests. You want this or that in the bill? Let me see how much you have donated to my campaign coffers?
Jason and all the others who are wondering why Big Oil would support Cap and Trade: You have no idea how much competition the independents and small companies provide here in the US, *especially* in the field of Natural Gas production.
Smaller companies don’t have the pricing power that the majors do – which means that cap and trade and all other regulatory schemes will hit them much harder than it will hit the majors, who will always be able to pass their costs along.
What this is, from the majors point of view, is a passthrough bill of little cost to them which will effectively destroy their most effective competition, and which will result in the consolodation of the industry into just a few national players and 5 -6 giant multinationals. Everyone smaller than that will either be wiped out or gobbled up. This is close to a grant of Absolute Power for them – talk about Too Big to Fail! And they could *never* bring this about in a normal competitive marketplace; this could ONLY happen with massive government coercion.
When you see that it really is a “Wipe out everyone except a handful of Really Big Companies Bill” then you will see what the stakes really are, and why they are playing along.
wws says:
I am not an american citizen, like John Q Public, but it is pityful to see such a big nation to fall down. Anyway that’s life. Never thought these changes of orbit around the barycenter could cause such a mess in the minds of individuals.:-)
In my humble opinion:
Cut funding at EPA 90% = jobs impact, initially -150,000, in six months, +600,000.
Do nothing and let this go through = jobs impact, initially -2 MM, after 6 months, -6 MM!
These guys are killing us along with themselves…..
Contact your Senators (email, fax, phone call, personal appointment, smoke signals, tangled quantum photon pairs, etc) and firmly direct them to vote “Yes” on the pending Murkowski Resolution of Disapproval (Senate Joint Resolution 26) to the 2009 EPA ruling claiming six greenhouse gases are a threat to public health. You have only 3 days to make your voices heard! I assure you, the opposition has already been lobbying them very hard so it is paramount that each of your speak clearly and directly now, before their vote. You can find your Senators contact information here:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Remind them that we elected THEM to control taxes and regulations that function as taxes on individuals and businesses, as the EPA ruling in question clearly does. Remind them that this is a fundamental part of their elected Senatorial job and it is not acceptable for them to delegate this to anyone else. Assure them that failure to vote “Yes” in compliance with their constituents clearly expressed directions for the Murkowski Senate Joint Resolution 26 will result in your immediate personal and financial support to whomever runs against them in the next US Senate election cycle. If you have previously supported them, make it clear in your message that this is a “make or break” issue for you.
One third of US Senate seats are up for election this November, a scant 4 and 1/2 months from now. They are the most worried about re-election and the most vulnerable, as a result. Hit them with multiple communications, expressing your clear directions by every means possible. Check out candidates that are running against them and mention them by name in your communications.
Do the same to your other Senator, as well, regardless of when they next stand for re-election. Lobby them all like your personal and economic freedoms depend on it. They do….