You are viewing an old blog post! That means that links will be broken, and images may be missing.

June 10, 2010

URGENT: Senate vote TODAY on EPA Greenhouse Gas Ruling

The Senate will vote TODAY on resolution S.J. Res. 26. Passage of this resolution would overrule the EPA’s self-proclaimed power to regulate Greenhouse Gases.

You can find background on this issue in these Downsizer-Dispatches:

* http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/write-the-laws-act-does-the-clean-air-act-cover-greenhouse-gases
* http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/climate-change-amp-write-the-laws-act-do-you-want-bureaucrats-to-rewrite-laws

And you can read the one-paragraph resolution here.

Keep in mind that we’re not taking a position on climate science. We simply believe the EPA has no constitutional authority to regulate greenhouse gases without specific legislation from Congress. In addition, the EPA’s proposed regulations violate the intent of the Clean Air Act at the cost of harming the economy. Finally, as the letter below shows, CO2 emissions are already falling, without government involvement!

DownsizeDC.org proposed the Write the Laws Act to prevent this kind of bureaucratic mischief.

Please send a letter to your elected representatives. Ask them to support S.J. Res. 26, and introduce the Write the Laws Act.  

The opening line in the letter to Congress is, “Please introduce DownsizeDC.org’s “Write the Laws Act.” You can find a summary and the full text of the bill here: http://www.downsizedc.org/wtla-legislation
 
You may borrow from or copy these additional remarks . . . 

Please also support S.J. Res. 26. This resolution invokes the CRA (Congressional Review Act) to overturn the EPA’s “endangerment” ruling on Greenhouse Gases. But the CRA doesn’t go far enough, so please also introduce the Write the Laws Act (WTLA).

Let me be clear that I’m not disputing the science regarding global warming, and your own position on global warming should have nothing to do with where you stand on S.J. Res.26. Here’s why . . .

* The EPA claims authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act
* But this was not Congress’s intent when it passed the Clean Air Act
* And whereas the Clean Air Act applied to large facilities emitting ozone-causing pollutants, the EPA’s greenhouse gas ruling would apply to small buildings, schools, and farms
* This will destroy jobs and increase prices during a recession

In addition, U.S. CO2 emissions hit a 14-year low in 2009, without government regulation!

Even better news, the Energy Information Administration estimates that a large majority of the decline resulted from increasing energy efficiency within the economy, and an ongoing reduction in the carbon intensity of our energy usage — part of a permanent trend. Only about one-third of the drop in CO2 emissions was because of the temporary effects of the recession. http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2010/05/co2-emissions-fall-to-14-year-low-in.html  

Private owners already have a financial incentive to be energy-efficient, and to demonstrate to customers that they are environmentally conscious. Please allow these natural forces to continue working. Don’t strangle us with top-down dictates.

Finally, your oath of office requires you to constrain the EPA. ALL regulations should be decided by Congress, not by unelected bureaucrats. Article I of the Constitution says that legislative power is vested in CONGRESS, not in Executive Branch agencies like the EPA.

When a controversial issue like greenhouse gases comes up, Congress should . . .

* hold hearings
* weigh the evidence
* consider expert testimony
* weigh the costs and benefits
* and THEN pass (or not pass) appropriate legislation in keeping with constitutional limits

Use your power to support S.J. 26. Then take action to stop executive agencies from writing their own regulations. Introduce DownsizeDC.org’s “Write the Laws Act.” The power to regulate and legislate belongs ONLY to you members of Congress!

END LETTER

You may send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

And spread the word! Forward to friends and Digg this on our blog. http://tinyurl.com/2ex4wgw 

 

James Wilson
Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org

If your comment is off-topic for this post, please email us at feedback@downsizedc.org

comments

Post a Comment


Notice: Undefined variable: user_ID in /var/www/archive.downsizedc.org/wordpress/wp-content/themes/downsizer/comments.php on line 89

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*
 
© 2008–2019 DownsizeDC.org