Senate Rejects Move to Block EPA From Regulating Greenhouse Gases

CO2In a boost for the president on global warming, the Senate on Thursday rejected a challenge to Obama administration rules aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other big polluters.

The defeated resolution would have denied the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to move ahead with the rules, crafted under the federal Clean Air Act. With President Barack Obama’s broader clean energy legislation struggling to gain a foothold in the Senate, the vote took on greater significance as a signal of where lawmakers stand on dealing with climate change.

“If ever there was a vote to find out whose side you are on, this is it,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

The vote was 53-47 to stop the Senate from moving forward on the Republican-led effort to restrain the EPA.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., predicted the vote would “increase momentum to adopt comprehensive energy and climate legislation this year.”

But Obama still needs 60 votes to advance his energy agenda, and Democrats don’t have them yet. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said the vote made clear that a majority in the Senate back either a delay or an outright ban on “the Obama EPA’s job-killing, global warming agenda.”

Republicans, and the six Democrats who voted with them to advance the resolution, said Congress, not bureaucrats, should be in charge of writing climate change policy. They said the EPA rules would drive up energy costs and kill jobs.

But Democrats, referring frequently to the Gulf oil spill, said it made no sense to undermine efforts to curtail greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on oil and other fossil fuels.

Read the rest of this story at Fox News.

42 Responses to Senate Rejects Move to Block EPA From Regulating Greenhouse Gases

  1. Mark @ Israel June 11, 2010 at 9:10 am #

    This resolution should not get through or else it will cause millions of Americans to suffer. I wonder why would these people want it in the first place. They should istead be protecting the people and not try to cause them to suffer. What has happened to them?

  2. Rob N. Hood June 12, 2010 at 7:07 am #

    Good question Mark from Isreal… thanks for worrying about us so much.

    Wrecking a Third World country’s economy and savaging its civilians are such standard U.S. elite behavior that it is barely noticed, let alone criticized in the mass media or halls of Congress. Perhaps the most dramatic example of America’s imperial mentality, however, is the answer to the following question: Which nation’s leaders since 1945 have murdered, maimed, made homeless, tortured, assassinated and impoverished the largest number of civilians who were not its own citizens?

    “I have asked this question of Americans in every walk of life since I discovered the bombing of Laos in 1969. It’s a simple matter of fact, not involving judgments of right and wrong, and I remain astonished at how most answer “the Russians,” “the Chinese,” or just have no idea that their leaders have killed more noncitizen civilians than the rest of the world’s leaders combined since 1945.” (Noam Chomsky)

  3. Rob N. Hood June 12, 2010 at 9:55 am #

    Seems to me you should have other things to worry your troubled head about. How are those Palestinians of yours doing? All cozy and comfy are they??

  4. Hal Groar June 12, 2010 at 4:16 pm #

    Yes, it is up to the government to ensure we don’t suffer! They are doing a bang-up job down in the gulf! Yes sireee! The government is the answer! They are the only one’s that will be able to show us how to behave! All they touch turns to gold! What a crock! The last thing we want is the government controlling CO2! This will go down as the economy killer, job killer and artificial energy price hike to the moon. Fools in Washington! CLEAN HOUSE IN DC!!!

  5. paul wenum June 12, 2010 at 8:10 pm #

    Hal, Mark, I agree. Clean up the “lifers” in Washington. November cannot come soon enough.

  6. Rob N. Hood June 13, 2010 at 7:05 am #

    It’s all legal bribery. That how the newbies get elected in addition to the lifers staying there. Unless we change the system there will be no change. You people just don’t get it.

    • NEIL F. AGWD/BSD June 13, 2010 at 7:35 pm #

      Yes we do get it Rob. We just don’t want to turn America into a communist country. And don’t say that’s not what you mean because then you would be lying….. again.

  7. paul wenum June 13, 2010 at 10:14 pm #

    Neil, We get it but people like Rob don’t. that’s the difference. As stated, November cannot come soon enough as I think we all agree.

    • NEIL F. AGWD/BSD June 14, 2010 at 5:26 am #

      Yes, Rob keeps talking about how we have to change the system, but doesn’t ever say what the changes should be.

  8. Rob N. Hood June 14, 2010 at 1:58 pm #

    Oh yes I have. You are lying. You just don’t like the responses. Plus you already answered your own question, above, also inaccurately, based upon my previous responses. And you guys actually believe you are rational, logical, and inquisitive about positive changes?

    Your answer is vote for some different crooks next time. We’ve all been doing that for decades now- and things have only gotten worse. Thanks but no thanks.

    • NEIL F. AGWD/BSD June 14, 2010 at 6:01 pm #

      where have you said what the changes should be? All I see from you is that the system is corrupt and needs to be changed and nothing else. Except for blaming Bush, and posting all kinds of crazy crap about republicants.
      And as far as things getting worse, you can blame yourself, and others like you. President Bush tried to do Social Security reform, and tried to get a handle on Fannie May, and freddie Mack, but all you could do is demonize, and criticise him and never once gave the man a break. So I don’t really want to hear it comrade.

  9. paul wenum June 14, 2010 at 9:30 pm #

    “Rational, logical”? You must be delusional “Robby Boy.” “Delusional,” Nice word. You love to use that word quite often I’ve noticed. Suggest that you use it wisely.

  10. Rob N. Hood June 16, 2010 at 7:30 am #

    Just because you happen to like the crooks you vote for doesn’t make then any less corrupt and slimy.

    • NEIL F. AGWD/BSD June 16, 2010 at 10:22 pm #

      Who did you vote for Rob?

  11. Rob N. Hood June 18, 2010 at 6:42 am #

    I’ve made that very clear time and time again, Neil. Why do you keep asking the same questions over and over again? I’ve also indicated who I won’t be voting for anymore- the Dems (and yes that includes Obama next time around- THAT should make you VERY happy because many Libs like me feel very betrayed and very disappointed and will not vote for him again- which means another fascist Repub has a better chance of winning the Prez next time around). And of course I will not vote for ANY fascist Republicans EVER (which means all of them) or any ridiculous Libertarians, whcih means any and all of them too.

    So the only sane vote I can make in the future is Green. Or something like that, as the case may be. Sure wish we had a socialist party cuz I would vote the them. But we don’t, and only simple-minded people think the Dem party is Socialist. So now please stop being redundant.

  12. paul wenum June 18, 2010 at 11:55 pm #

    And who may I ask is your “Green” party candidate?

  13. Rob N. Hood June 20, 2010 at 2:46 pm #

    Who are you voting for?

  14. paul wenum June 20, 2010 at 9:47 pm #

    The best candidate.

  15. Rob N. Hood June 21, 2010 at 8:37 am #

    Alright then. Must be nice to have such God-like omniscience. How do you find hats that fit that head of yours?

  16. paul wenum June 21, 2010 at 10:07 pm #

    Smart remark from a person that votes or should I say, “claims” he votes. I will vote for the best candidate I deem proper. At least in this Country, I can. Go to Cuba, other countries my friend. You have only one choice and it never changes..

  17. Rob N. Hood June 22, 2010 at 7:34 am #

    So you aren’t fully committed to the USA, like I am, is that what you just said?! Again, it must be nice to be you and to have those kind of resources. You sound like an international corporation. Do you also utilize tax-free off shore banking to hide your profits and assets?

  18. paul wenum June 22, 2010 at 10:36 pm #

    Nope. No loop holes. I detest people and corporations that do even though our tax system is making them go to other places to cut their costs. Most countries internationally do. And your point is? How about you? Bet your 401K has oil and other investments that you have no knowledge of or do you???

  19. Rob N. Hood June 23, 2010 at 8:40 am #

    You are apparently in denial about this issue. Defending those that are oppressing you is sometimes referred to as the Stockholm Syndrome, or Batterer’s syndrome. Of course, when person is in denial they cannot identify this or any problem, to be able to begin to deal with it.

    Also, I guess I have to point this out: It is that very tax system that ALLOWS them to do it. Understand that?

  20. paul wenum June 23, 2010 at 10:28 pm #

    Answer my question on your 401K. Any Oil investments?

  21. Rob N. Hood June 26, 2010 at 9:37 am #

    I have no money in the market. What little I had I removed before Bush’s big crash (not 9-11, the one after that) and am still paying off the penalty charges for that. Why? I knew Bush was wrecking the economy, and I no longer believed in the market. Don’t believe in much anymore.

  22. paul wenum June 26, 2010 at 11:02 pm #

    Can tell from your posts.

  23. Rob N. Hood June 27, 2010 at 7:33 am #

    Glad you finally understand something.

  24. paul wenum June 27, 2010 at 10:19 pm #

    Good luck in your investments. I took a hit like everyone else.

  25. Rob N. Hood July 1, 2010 at 1:56 pm #

    You’re such a good American… Red, White and Screwed.

  26. paul wenum July 1, 2010 at 10:06 pm #

    Just like ever other “True American” that does not get bailed out of their pension plans by Obama to get the votes come 2012.

  27. Rob N. Hood July 3, 2010 at 1:02 pm #

    So when this Bush (right-wing) recession/depression worsens, you will blame Obama correct?

    But you never blamed Bush for anything that went wrong while he was Prez, so how does that figure? You know, with that pesky stuff like logic and reasoning??

  28. paul wenum July 3, 2010 at 11:03 pm #

    You are wrong Alinsky. See previous posts. I find it ironic that after 18 months Obama blames Bush? Get a real life community organizer!!!! It’s called “responsibility.”!!!!! Is that so hard to understand? Bush will eventually be charged with the next earthquake in Iceland! Man, you people always point fingers when you and your duly elected foul up. Never changes, nor will you with your mindset that is “Set.” Pelosi loves ya!

  29. Rob N. Hood July 4, 2010 at 7:48 am #

    Bush blamed Clinton for everything under the sun during his entire 8 years. I am making this point because you people are so hypocritical. For example- YOU DON”T POINT FINGERS???? Really???!!!!

    BTW I would only “love” Pelosi if she would have done her job and started prosecutions of Chency and Bush for their crimes. She hasn’t because she chose to cover their asses, and Obama covered for them too just like Clinton did for Poppy. And the thanks they get for that is impeachment of Clinton for a copnsensual blowjob, and non-stop persecution for everything else they could think of. The same thing is happening to Obama as well. The right-wing in this country is blood-thristy, hypocritical, and tyranical.

  30. paul wenum July 6, 2010 at 9:48 pm #

    Thought we were discussing the EPA?

  31. Rob N. Hood July 9, 2010 at 10:08 am #

    As history teaches, oversimplification tends to obscure the counterintuitive notions that often hold the most profound truths. And in the case of the WRSTGD, the most important of these is the idea that we are in economic dire straits because tax rates are too low. This is the provocative argument first floated by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer in a Slate magazine article evaluating 80 years of economic data.

    “During the period 1951-63, when marginal rates were at their peak – 91 percent or 92 percent – the American economy boomed, growing at an average annual rate of 3.71 percent,” he wrote in February. “The fact that the marginal rates were what would today be viewed as essentially confiscatory did not cause economic cataclysm – just the opposite. And during the past seven years, during which we reduced the top marginal rate to 35 percent, average growth was a more meager 1.71 percent.”

    Months later, with USA Today reporting that tax rates are at a 60-year nadir, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Brookings Institution audience that “the rich are not paying their fair share in any nation that is facing (major) employment issues … whether it is individual, corporate, whatever the taxation forms are.”

    A prime example is Greece. While conservatives say the debt-ridden nation is a victim of welfare-state profligacy, a Center for American Progress analysis shows that “Greece has consistently spent less” than Europe’s other social democracies – most of which have avoided Greece’s plight.

    “The real problem facing the Greeks is not how to reduce spending but how to increase revenue collections,” the report concludes, fingering Greece’s comparatively “anemic tax collections” as its economic problem.

    On the other hand, the opposite is also true – as Clinton noted, some high-tax, high-revenue nations are excelling.

    “Brazil has the highest tax-to-GDP rate in the Western hemisphere,” she pointed out. “And guess what? It’s growing like crazy. The rich are getting richer, but they are pulling people out of poverty.”

    This makes perfect sense. Though the Reagan zeitgeist created the illusion that taxes stunt economic growth, the numbers prove that higher marginal tax rates generate more resources for the job-creating, wage-generating public investments (roads, bridges, broadband, etc.) that sustain an economy. They also create economic incentives for economy-sustaining capital investment. Indeed, the easiest way wealthy business owners can avoid high-bracket tax rates is by plowing their profits back into their businesses and taking the corresponding write-off rather than simply pocketing the excess cash and paying an IRS levy.

    In summing up her remarks, Clinton said that this higher-tax/higher-revenue formula “used to work for us until we abandoned it.”

    Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/08/ED541EBDQD.DTL#ixzz0tCWKwH9t

  32. paul wenum July 9, 2010 at 11:47 pm #

    By the way, Keynesian economics did not work in the 1930’s and it is not working now although it’s been tried for the last 18 months. Suggest you do some research my friend. Typical response from a novice that cuts and pastes. Awaiting your paper, student.

  33. Rob N. Hood July 11, 2010 at 3:16 pm #

    And your “facts” that it didn’t work? It was laizze-fare government that caused the Great Depression (AND it is also WHAT WE’VE HAD AND CONTINUE TO HAVE SINCE REAGAN). After that (1940’s and 50’s) Keynesian saved capitalism from itself.

  34. paul wenum July 12, 2010 at 10:29 pm #

    Suggest that you research further. Then we can discuss further. Remember as you stated previously, “ignorance is bliss.” Seems you follow your own pasted statements. You have an assignment. Let’s see if you pass. Waiting.

  35. Rob N. Hood July 14, 2010 at 7:54 am #

    Your denial of “facts” makes it impossible to debate anything with you or your fellows. So I cannot continue. Now you can tell everyone you beat down the “Hood”. Yes, Paul, you win. I give up. Enjoy…

  36. paul wenum July 14, 2010 at 10:00 pm #

    Check. Talk later.

  37. Rob N. Hood July 17, 2010 at 9:34 am #

    You may just miss me. Like me, you are addicted to the “put down.” The exhilaration that you are right and the other person is wrong wrong wrong. I have used logic and reasoning to show why I feel the way I do, and in return hoped that that logic and reasoning would be contagious. But it rarely has, and will ever be thus.

  38. paul wenum July 17, 2010 at 11:17 pm #

    Discourse is good when both parties don’t throw barbs when they have no facts behind them. This has never been the case in our interactions. Have a good one on your next site.

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