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EPA's Chief Wanted for Frequent Questioning by Republicans
2011-01-20 05:00:01.16 GMT
By Jim Snyder
Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Fred Upton, the
chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, says
he plans to summon Environmental Protection Agency Administrator
Lisa Jackson to Capitol Hill for questioning so often that he's
going to save a parking place for her.
Among Jackson's proposals targeted by the new Republican
majority in the House are limits on toxic emissions from
boilers, a revised national standard for smog, and the first-
ever greenhouse gas-emission curbs, which Republicans and some
Democrats say would raise energy prices and cost jobs.
"The EPA has its foot firmly on the throat of our economic
recovery," Upton, a Michigan Republican, said in a Dec. 23
statement, referring to the agency's planned carbon regulations.
Keeping the EPA from imposing greenhouse-gas cuts after
Congress rejected climate legislation last year is highest on
the GOP's to-do list on energy, Upton says.
The greenhouse-gas rules will spur investment in clean
energy and create jobs, Jackson said in a Dec. 23 statement. She
also pledged to move forward in a "measured and careful way"
to reduce the threat of climate change.
Aric Newhouse, senior vice president of the Washington-
based National Association of Manufacturers, says the group was
pleased the EPA decided in December to delay its boiler rule,
after businesses complained of the economic impact, and opted to
push back new smog rules until July. Even so, Congress should
perform a "robust examination of what the proposals will mean
for jobs and economic growth, both on large and small
companies," he says.
Public Lands
Like Jackson, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar can expect
frequent commutes to the Capitol. Representative Doc Hastings, a
Washington Republican who heads the House Natural Resources
Committee, pledged "thoughtful oversight" of the Obama
administration's moves to "lock up public land to energy
development" through new drilling rules and its decision to
block oil companies from developing swaths of territory
offshore.
"All of these issues have serious implications on American
jobs and our economic competitiveness," Hastings said in a
statement.
Salazar announced Dec. 1 the administration's decision to
keep the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Gulf of Mexico in the U.S.
off limits to oil producers. In light of BP Plc's oil spill, the
largest in U.S. history, "we need to proceed with caution and
focus on creating a more stringent regulatory regime," Salazar
said in a statement.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu may have to defend what
Congress has already given him: billions of dollars in stimulus
money for clean-energy programs. More than $20 billion of the
$33 billion originally appropriated in the 2009 economic-
recovery bill hadn't been spent as of Dec. 31, according to the
Energy Department.
Upton wrote Chu on Nov. 23 to ask how many jobs had been
generated by the stimulus funds, which is probably a precursor
to a Republican push to rescind the money, says Michael Schmidt,
a Washington lobbyist at Chicago-based GolinHarris.
"He's not going to be as frequent a visitor up there as
Lisa Jackson, from what we hear, but he'll come under a lot of
scrutiny, for sure," Schmidt says.
This story is part of a Bloomberg Government special report on
regulation. The full report may be found on BGOV.com and in
Bloomberg Businessweek.
For Related News and Information:
Top energy news: ETOP <GO>
Top power news: PTOP <GO>
News about Congress and energy: TNI CNG NRG <GO>
Green Markets: EMIT <GO>
--Editors: Larry Liebert, Romaine Bostick.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jim Snyder in Washington at +1-202-624-1972 or
jsnyder24@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Larry Liebert at +1-202-624-1936 or
lliebert@bloomberg.net.
