Source:  Sen. Inhofe

Senate Democrats claim they want to rein in the Obama-EPA; It’s time to actually do it.

Link to Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today filed a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that will prevent the Obama-EPA from going through with its Utility Maximum Achievable Control Technology (“Utility MACT”) rule.

“The failure of the United States Senate to rein in the Obama-EPA is having a devastating impact on the pocketbooks of American families and threatens the jobs and livelihoods of millions of Americans,” Senator Inhofe warned. “Over the past year, more than a dozen Senate Democrats have claimed that they want to stop EPA’s destructive agenda, yet when the time comes, they hide behind alternative bills they know will never pass.  This way, they can tell their constituents they are trying to help – when the reality is their actions are enabling them to protect President Obama’s left wing ideals. The House has passed numerous bipartisan bills, yet not a single one has passed the United States Senate.  It’s time for the Senate to do its job and stop this regulatory nightmare. (more…)

Inhofe Applauds Keystone Bill Introduction

Contact:

Matt Dempsey Matt_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-9797

Katie Brown Katie_Brown@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-2160

Link to Press Release

Washington D.C. – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, applauded bipartisan legislation that approves the Keystone XL pipeline through Congress under Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, instead of through executive approval.  This bill, which will be introduced today, is sponsored by Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), and David Vitter (R-La.), and Senator Inhofe is one of the 44 cosponsors.   (more…)

Source:  Sen. Inhofe

“Today, hundreds of Americans learned that they will be losing their good-paying jobs because of the Obama EPA’s destructive regulatory agenda,” Senator Inhofe said. “Due to EPA’s forthcoming Utility MACT rule, FirstEnergy will be closing six power plants, which will put 529 Americans out of work in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland – states that have already been hit hard by the recession. (more…)

Inhofe: EPA Skirting Proper Scientific Process in Utility Rule, Warns of IG Investigation

“In the wake of the recent EPA IG report, which revealed that EPA short-circuited record-keeping and scientific peer review procedures leading up to its endangerment finding, it appears that EPA has cut corners on the proposed Utility MACT rule.”

Washington, D.C. – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, sent a letter last night to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson inquiring if the Agency adhered to the requirements of the Data Quality Act while crafting the rule for hazardous air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired electric generating units, known as the Utility Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rule.  This letter comes on the heels of a report by the EPA Office of Inspector General, released September 28, 2011, which revealed that EPA did not follow the Data Quality Act or its own peer review procedures while issuing the Technical Support Document (TSD) for the endangerment finding – a finding that greenhouse gases harm public health and welfare. (more…)

Source:  FOX News

Several Republican lawmakers are challenging the Obama administration’s science czar over what they claim are repeat incidents of “scientific misconduct” among agencies, questioning whether officials who deal with everything from endangered species to nuclear waste are using “sound science.”

The letter sent Wednesday to John Holdren, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, cited four specific controversies in recent years where scientific findings were questioned. Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., rattled off a slew of questions on what they called “the apparent collapse in the quality of scientific work being conducted at our federal agencies.”  (more…)

Source: Sen. Inhofe Press
 by matt_dempsey@epw.senate.gov

Link to Article

Inhofe Speech: Inhofe Calls for Hearing on Serious Flaws in EPA Endangerment Finding Process

Inhofe 2010 Speech: ‘CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE’ IN THE IPCC

One of the Senate’s top foes of U.S. EPA climate regulations said yesterday that a report last week by the agency’s inspector general was reason to reopen EPA’s finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health.

The IG report did not cast doubt on the science EPA used to support the endangerment finding, but it did question EPA’s process for reviewing that science. EPA says it followed established procedure to the letter when preparing its finding. (more…)

Source:  Sen. Injhofe Press Release

Sen. James Inhofe

EPA Cut Corners – Scolded on Review Process – Report with Wide Reaching Implications
Thursday, September 29, 2011

Posted by matt_dempsey@epw.senate.gov

“Obama Administration Cut Corners” – “EPA scolded on greenhouse gas report review process” – “Wide-Reaching Implications” – “fresh ammunition to vocal EPA critics”

Inhofe EPW Press Roundup

Link to Inhofe EPW Press Blog

Link to Inhofe Press Release

AP: “Obama Administration Cut Corners”: The Obama administration cut corners when it produced a key scientific document underpinning its decision to regulate climate-changing pollution, an internal government watchdog said Wednesday.The inspector general’s report says the Environmental Protection Agency should have followed a more robust review process for a technical paper supporting its determination that greenhouse gases posed dangers to human health and welfare, a finding that ultimately compelled it to issue costly and controversial regulations to control greenhouse gases for the first time…The Obama administration has made a big deal about the importance of peer review. Six weeks after taking office in 2009, Obama issued a memo that said: “When scientific or technological information is considered in policy decisions, the information should be subject to well-established scientific processes, including peer review where appropriate, and each agency should appropriately and accurately reflect that information in complying with and applying relevant statutory standards.” A year later, the president’s science adviser, John Holdren, emphasized the “particular importance” of outside review by scientists. (more…)

Source:  Sen. Inhofe

Contacts:

Matt Dempsey Matt_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-9797

David Lungren David_Lungren@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-5642

IG Finds NOAA Climategate Emails ‘Warrant Further Investigation,’ Top Scientist Thwarts Transparency Law

Link to Press Release

Washington, D.C.–Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, released the following findings from the investigation by the Commerce Department’s Inspector General on emails from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) related to the “climategate” scandal.

“I want to thank the Inspector General for conducting a thorough, objective, and balanced investigation,” Inhofe said.  “NOAA is one of the nation’s leading scientific organizations.  Unfortunately, in reading past the executive summary, this report shows that some NOAA employees potentially violated federal contract law and engaged in data manipulation.  It also appears that one senior NOAA employee possibly thwarted the release of important federal scientific information for the public to assess and analyze.  Her justification for blocking the release was contradicted by two career attorneys in the Office of General Counsel.  This is no doubt a serious matter that deserves further investigation. (more…)

A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today found that carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) schemes favored by Democrats under their proposed cap and trade national energy tax boondoggle would increase electricity costs, reduce electricity output and increase water consumption.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking Republican of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), released the GAO today covering the status, cost, and reliability of current CCS technology for coal-fired power plants.

The release states, “Based on GAO’s survey of stakeholders, including utilities and state regulators, current CCS technology would increase electricity costs by 30 to 80 percent, reduce electricity output between 15 and 32 percent, and increase water consumption at power plants.”

These findings do not bode well for Democrats pushing the cap and trade national energy tax scheme. (more…)