The Environmental Protection Agency has granted California's waiver request, thereby enabling the state to implement its greenhouse gas emission standards for new motor vehicles beginning with the current model year. Under the Clean Air Act, the decision also paves the way for other states to adopt and implement regulations as stringent as California's.
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Last Friday, the House passed the Waxman-Markey legislation by a vote of 219-212. Eight Republicans voted for the legislation and 44 Democrats voted against it.
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The Waxman-Markey legislation has hit the House floor and is scheduled for a floor vote later today. Currently the Democrats are working to obtain the votes needed to pass the bill, as there are still a number of undecided voters. Democratic leaders expect to get to the 218 number but there is no guarantee it will happen.
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Doug Cloud, Kristin Holloway Jones and C. Max Zygmont co-authored the article, “ Potential Implications of CAA Carbon Constraints,” which was posted on Law360.com. The article discusses the EPA’s recent issuance of its much-anticipated proposed finding that emissions of greenhouse gases are contributing to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare, and the ramifications thereof. The findings mark a watershed toward a carbon-constrained future for major sectors of the U.S. economy, either under the Clean Air Act or as a catalyst for Congress to enact climate change legislation.
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Following an agreement late yesterday between Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Waxman and Agriculture Committee Chairman Peterson, the Waxman-Markey legislation took a huge step towards having enough votes for passage.
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The United States Chamber of Commerce filed a petition for the EPA to hold a formal hearing to review the scientific evidence that the EPA used for its proposed finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health. By petitioning for the hearing, the Chamber of Commerce may pursue legal challenges to any regulatory action that is based on the scientific evidence. Chamber of Commerce Vice President William Kovacs said, “We are not denying that there is climate change. What we are stating is that there is no evidence that that climate change has an effect on health or welfare.”
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The EPA released its analysis of the Waxman-Markey legislation, as reported out of the Energy & Commerce Committee in May. The analysis finds, “H.R. 2454 transforms the structure of energy production and consumption.” According to a summary of the analysis, it projects that the “legislation would substantially accelerate the deployment of clean energy technology that will create new jobs.”
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At this time yesterday, it appeared there was no chance that the Waxman-Markey climate bill would hit the House floor this week—then the Rules Committee unveiled a new draft of the legislation last night. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tentatively plans to hold a vote on the legislation late on Friday, or possibly Saturday, before Congress leaves for the week-long July 4 recess.
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Earlier this month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman hoped to bring the Waxman-Markey climate change bill to the floor before the July 4 recess. But, due to an impasse with rural Democrats and the Agricultural Committee, both Chairman Waxman and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer seem doubtful that the bill will reach the floor this week. On Friday, Hoyer said, “At this point in time, I have no reason to believe that it's going to be on the floor next week, but I want to make it clear to the members that work is being done as we speak on this bill.”
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A comprehensive energy package was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee yesterday by a vote of 15 to 8. Following the bill's move out of Committee, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman said in a press release, “This bill will help shift our country to cleaner sources of energy, and more secure sources as well.” Ranking member Sen. Murkowski voted for the bill and said,
Despite an uphill fight against Democrats’ three-vote majority, we were able to include a number of provisions that will lead to more domestic production of the conventional energy we need to drive this country. While I support this bill in its present form, we simply must do more to increase our domestic production and use of nuclear energy.
The carbon capture and storage portion of the bill had two amendments adopted, one that is fairly significant. It was proposed by Sen. Murkowski and provides for a $10 billion liability cap per CCS project.
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