Greenhouse Gas Regulation. This legislative measure (S.J.R. 26) would disapprove an Environmental Protection Agency endangerment finding that greenhouse gases may be regulated as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. The EPA had issued the finding in December 2009, claiming that “six greenhouse gases taken in combination endanger both the public health and the public welfare of current and future generations.” The supposedly dangerous pollutants include carbon dioxide, even though this natural substance is necessary for the existence of plant life.
A motion to consider Senate Joint Resolution 26 was rejected by the Senate on June 10, 2010 by a vote of 47-53 (Roll Call 184). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because restricting greenhouse-gas emissions would be harmful to the economy, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are not pollutants, and the federal government has no constitutional authority to limit such emissions.
