By Elizabeth McGowan
June 7 -- (WASHINGTON)
Several high-profile Democrats are vowing to reinvent draft energy legislation circulating among the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Rep. Rick Boucher, a Democrat from southwestern Virginia coal territory, set off a tempest this week by introducing a bill that some environmentalists and politicians say would block California from receiving a federal waiver to curb tailpipe emissions that contribute to global warming. At least 11 states are poised to follow Californiaīs lead.
Committee chair Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., called the bill a starting point during an energy and air quality subcommittee hearing Thursday.
But fellow Democrats Henry Waxman of California and Ed Markey of Massachusetts both said at the hearing that the bill effectively overturns the Massachusetts v. EPA Supreme Court decision granting the Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate heat-trapping gases.
California has waited since December 2005 for EPAīs permission to make its vehicle emission standards stricter than federal requirements, beginning with the 2009 model year.
Boucherīs draft calls for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sets fuel economy standards, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions form vehicles.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has the power to keep the bill from reaching the House floor, has denounced the draft bill. The corporation counsel for New York City and attorneys general for 14 states have signed a letter opposing the legislation.
In addition to fuel economy, the bill addresses a broad range of energy issues, including establishing an infrastructure for ethanol distribution and granting subsidies for both cellulosic ethanol and coal-to-liquid fuels.
Boucherīs draft doesnīt respond to the twin challenges of global warming and energy security, Markey said, adding that it cuts the legs out from under EPA and states trying to be proactive.
"This bill doesnīt measure up," Waxman said. "It blinks, then steps back."
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