Democrat takes aim at EPA

Firing the first salvo in what is expected to be a top energy issue in the new Congress, Sen. John Rockefeller said Wednesday that he’s raring to go in his controversial bid to handcuff the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate regulations for two years. The West Virginia Democrat told POLITICO that he’ll soon introduce the same piece of legislation he tried unsuccessfully to get a vote on throughout 2010. Rockefeller said he’d wanted to drop the bill at the start of the 112th Congress but was stymied by plans to spend the day debating changes to the Senate rules. EPA’s climate rules started kicking in on Sunday and will continue to be phased in over the next two years for power plants, petroleum refiners and other major stationary sources. House Republicans are expected to hold hearings and force votes to stop the EPA regulations too, but prospects that any type of freeze will make it into law depends on the Democrat-led Senate and President Barack Obama’s willingness to sign off on a delay. Administration officials have previously said they’d recommend a veto. Rockefeller said prospects for some type of anti-EPA legislation making it into law have improved with the new Senate that includes a much more narrow Democratic majority. “It’ll be very interesting,” Rockefeller said...more