Right now members of Congress are debating a bill that would strip the EPA of its right to regulate greenhouse gas pollution. Lauren Levenstein chronicles the mounting evidence that the US Chamber of Commerce is an active player in this effort to undermine the EPA’s ability to protect our air and our planet.
“In her letter to supporters regarding the EPA vote today, the Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy President Karen Harbert concludes, “There’s a growing consensus that EPA’s efforts are a barrier to our country’s economic recovery. Further, the EPA is superseding the power of Congress.” Doesn’t she mean the U.S. Chamber?”
Cross-posed from U.S Chamber Watch- written by Lauren Levenstein on April 06, 2011
Since the Republican victories on Election Day 2010, many have said “one of the biggest losers…was the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)” which was “expected to be the target of bruising congressional attacks.” Most stories have focused on Republicans leading the fight to block the EPA, when the spotlight should really be on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber, an organization that has done more than anyone else to destroy climate legislation, spent over $32 million in 2010 to elect those Republicans and is now looking for a return on its investment. Now the Chamber is actively supporting a bill offered by the GOP that would prevent the EPA from enforcing its Constitutional right to protect the air we breath from dangerous pollutants and further weaken the agency.
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