House Passes Budget Amendments To Wipe Out Obama Climate Change Rules
The Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed a budget amendment Wednesday that blocks any money being used to enforce an Obama administration rule to limit methane emissions from oil and natural gas wells.
“The free market has provided an incentive to reduce methane release on its own,” said Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. “There is no further need for EPA to impose costly bureaucratic hurdles on these sensitive industries.”
The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., passed 218-195
“This rule is currently facing litigation and uncertainty, and Congress must act to block this job-killing regulation estimated to cost the U.S. economy $530 million annually,” Mullin said last week during debate on his amendment.
“Methane emissions from oil and natural gas have significantly declined in recent decades without multiple, overlapping federal regulations, and this is no exception,” he said.
This spring, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt imposed a two-year delay on implementing the regulation, with an eye to rolling back the order.