The U.S. Senate will vote as early as June 10 th on Senate Joint Resolution 26, (S.J. Res. 26) which will block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gases. This resolution has been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Background and Resolution Highlights

U.S. EPA is planning to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and stationary sources next year. The authority to specifically regulate greenhouse gasses as a source of air pollution, including carbon dioxide, is nowhere in the text of the Clean Air Act. However, under a U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Massachusetts v EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Air Act grants discretionary, but not mandatory, authority to EPA to identify and regulate possible additional sources of air pollution that are not specifically addressed in the text of the Clean Air Act. EPA has proposed to use this discretionary regulatory authority to impose new regulations on man made sources of greenhouse gasses. At the same time, Congress and the Obama Administration are working on legislation that would provide new legal authority that specifically names greenhouse gasses as potential sources of air pollution and delineates the regulatory authority that Federal agencies, like EPA, could use to control these sources of pollution. However, some lawmakers and environmental groups still support strict EPA regulations as a backstop if Congress fails to pass a climate bill, while opponents of EPA regulation, like the National Grange, say the Clean Air Act was never designed for regulating sources of pollution that are not directly dangerous to human health, such as greenhouse gases.

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has introduced S. J. Res. 26 with the intent to undo EPA’s discretionary authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, and effectively reverse the Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v EPA that radically shifted the presumptive legal authority to address new, national issues of environmental regulation from the elected, national legislature, with its Constitutional system of checks and balances, to unelected bureaucrats at EPA . The sponsor said she has unanimous consent agreement with Majority Leader Harry Reid to call for a floor vote after the weeklong Memorial Day recess. Since Congress will be in recess for the holiday, there will be an opportunity for all Grange members to contact their U.S. Senators in their home offices to express support for Sen. Murkowski’s resolution.

S.J. Res. 26 is a disapproval resolution seeking to veto EPA’s “endangerment finding,” a formal determination that allows the agency to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The resolution will effectively negate EPA’s authority to enforce its climate rules for cars and industrial facilities. Under Senate rules, the resolution can be debated for 10 hours with no filibusters or amendments possible. The resolution needs 51 votes to pass the Senate and already has 41 co-sponsors including three democrats.

Even if the resolution passes the Senate, it faces an uphill climb in the House, which does not have the same expedited procedures, and it faces a likely veto from President Obama. However, it is still important for Grange members to weigh in and support S.J. Res. 26 because it is important that our elected officials understand the potential, real life economic impacts of allowing unelected bureaucrats at the EPA, rather than elected members of Congress, to unilaterally set our national priorities related to important environmental issues, like climate change

Grange Policy

At the 143rd National Grange convention, grassroots policy was passed by the delegate body to vigorously oppose any “Cap and Trade” bill or related legislation or regulation concerning climate change s that would restrict greenhouse gas emissions.

Action Needed

Please e-mail your U.S. Senators before June 10, 2010 and urge them to vote in favor of S.J. Res. 26. Please feel free to cut and paste the following sample letter. If you do not know your Senators’ email addresses please click here to find them.

Sample E-Mail

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Action Alert, please contact Legislative Program Assistant Molly Thompson by e-mail: mthompson@nationalgrange.org; or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext. 107. Thank you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative Program.