House lawmakers passed a $1.2 trillion package of appropriations bills for the next fiscal year on Thursday, but not before Republicans successfully added four amendments targeting Obama-era rules, including those governing methane emissions and the “social cost of carbon.”
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House GOP Tacks Amendments Targeting Obama-Era Rules to Appropriations Bill
House lawmakers last week postponed debate over an appropriations bill to fund the Department of Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the next fiscal year, but not until after Republican lawmakers successfully tacked on a pair of amendments targeting two controversial Obama-era rules.
EPA’s Pruitt Denies White House Will Suppress Climate Change Report
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt said the agency would evaluate a report on climate change, and derided the Obama administration for its apologetic stance on the issue and on the politicization of science in general.
Appeals Court Drops Stay on EPA Methane Emission Rules; Longer Halt in Works
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Monday removed a stay of the Obama administration’s methane emission reduction rules that had been issued by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt.
Western States, Stakeholders See Positive Approach in Zinke Sage Grouse Review; Enviros Disagree
Reassessing the nation’s greater sage grouse protections is a positive first step that needs further action, according to some western governors and oil and gas stakeholders who reacted Friday to thereview of conservation plans by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
Trump to Nominate Former Fund Manager Brian Quintenz to CFTC
President Trump intends to nominate Brian Quintenz, a former head of a Washington-based investment firm, to be a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for the remainder of a five-year term expiring April 13, 2020, the White House said Friday.
Several Obama-Era Energy Rules in Crosshairs of House GOP, Group Says
A group of Republican House lawmakers from Western states said they plan to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) this week to roll back one — and possibly more — rules enacted during the Obama administration, and that a total of 13 regulations should be targeted.
GOP Elders Lobby Trump for Carbon Tax Over Obama Climate Change Policies
A coalition of veteran Republican officials, including former Secretary of State James A. Baker, met Wednesday with White House officials to advocate for a national carbon tax to address climate change.
BLM Seeks Comments on Another Utah Master Leasing Plan
Preliminary alternatives in one of three master leasing plans (MLP) to guide oil/natural gas development on public lands in Utah, the San Rafael Desert MLP, are undergoing a public comment period that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said Tuesday will close Jan. 20.
In Nod to Fracking, Obama Says Clean Energy Economy ‘Irreversible’
President Obama said he believes the clean energy economy that developed during his eight years in the White House will be “irreversible,” due in large part to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) driving down the cost and pollution associated with power generation.