Lobbyists aided Alaska's Murkowski in writing EPA limits bill

[TomCADem]

Source: Miami Herald

WASHINGTON — Two lobbyists had a hand in writing language proposed by Sen. Lisa Murkowski that could curtail the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate major emitters of greenhouse gases.

Their involvement, first reported Monday by The Washington Post, came at the request of a staffer on the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, where the Alaska senator is the top Republican. Both of the lobbyists, Jeff Holmstead and Roger Martella Jr., represent a number of high-profile energy clients. Both had top positions in the EPA during the Bush administration.

Murkowski has led the charge against the EPA's role in regulating greenhouse gas emissions, saying she has concerns about an executive branch agency, rather than Congress, writing such regulations. Her original amendment would have been attached to a spending bill and it would have prohibited the EPA for one year from spending any money on developing regulations for greenhouse gases.

Her original amendment failed to move forward but Murkowski has continued to search for a way to keep the EPA from drawing up regulations for large emitters, such as power plants and manufacturers.


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1420502.html

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The Republicans continue to try to deny and obstruct efforts to limit carbon emissions.

[ananda]

1. Why don't we just say it straight..

.. the corporations are writing our bills.

[No Elephants]

5. That's what happens when the right runs the country.

The letter people choose to put after their names means nothing anymore.

Meanwhile, the country, if not the planet, has been stolen out from under us while we focus on whatever the media directs our attention to.

[Tempest]

7. It's not limited to the right

Just look at the health care bill.

[pennylane100]

2. ans this is new because?

[NecklyTyler]

3. Let me see..."represent a number of high-profile energy clients"

Let me translate this:



represent a number of high-profile energy clients = Funded by big oil

[groundloop]

4. A case where President Obama is trying to do the right thing and is opposed by big business

I got an email yesterday from Al Gore about this, asking people to sign a petition. Here's a portion of it with the link:



Dear Groundloop,

It's an outrage. 2010 should start in a way that reflects our movement's amazing
accomplishments from last year -- moving the ball forward to passage of
comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. Instead, our elected leaders are
proposing policies that would set us back decades and let the worst polluters
completely off the hook.

Despite the chorus of alarm bells sounding the need to address the climate crisis
and stop polluting the air our families breathe and the water we drink, Alaska
Senator Lisa Murkowski and her allies are attacking the Clean Air Act -- for the
second time in six months.

And it gets worse. Last night, news broke that the original version of the amendment
was literally drafted with lobbyists for the oil and coal industry.*

We can't let this attack succeed. Write your Senators right now and tell them to
vote NO on Senator Murkowski's proposal:

http://cpaf.repoweramerica.org/cleanair

[No Elephants]

6. Well, unless the lobbyists also help Democrats to vot e for this bill, we should be ok for a while.

[roguevalley]

8. she's a google-eyed douchebag entitlement queen.