{ "id": "R41212", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R41212", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 452005, "date": "2016-04-22", "retrieved": "2016-10-17T20:06:22.897097", "title": "EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options", "summary": "In August 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated standards to limit emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from both new and existing fossil-fueled electric power plants. Because of the importance of electric power to the economy and its significance as a source of GHG emissions, the EPA standards have generated substantial interest. The economy and the health, safety, and well-being of the nation are affected by the availability of a reliable and affordable power supply. Many contend that that supply would be adversely impacted by controls on GHG emissions. At the same time, an overwhelming scientific consensus has formed around the need to slow long-term global climate change. The United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind only China, and power plants are the source of about 30% of the nation\u2019s anthropogenic GHG emissions. If the United States is to reduce its total GHG emissions, as the President has committed to do, it will be important to reduce emissions from these sources. \nLeaders of both the House and Senate in the 114th Congress have stated their opposition to GHG emission standards, so Congress has considered several bills to prevent EPA from implementing the promulgated rules. Such legislation could take one of several forms:\na resolution (or resolutions) of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act; \nfreestanding legislation; \nthe use of appropriations bills as a vehicle to influence EPA activity; or\namendments to the Clean Air Act.\nFollowing promulgation of the power plant GHG standards, Congress passed and sent to the President S.J.Res. 23 and S.J.Res. 24, joint resolutions disapproving the standards for both new and existing power plants under the Congressional Review Act. The President vetoed both resolutions on December 18, 2015. \nEarlier, the House passed H.R. 2042, which would delay the compliance date of GHG emission standards for electric generating units and would allow a state to opt out of compliance if the governor determines that the rule would have an adverse effect on rate-payers or have a significant adverse effect on the reliability of the state\u2019s electricity system. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has reported a bill with similar (and additional) provisions, S. 1324, but as of this writing the full Senate has not acted on it.\nThis report discusses elements of the GHG controversy, providing background on stationary sources of GHG emissions and providing information regarding the options Congress has at its disposal to address GHG issues.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41212", "sha1": "5438ce7a9804c8fd3fe196d7fb75ab62ddb7ab94", "filename": "files/20160422_R41212_5438ce7a9804c8fd3fe196d7fb75ab62ddb7ab94.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41212", "sha1": "0597aa46caef3c70d074c46dc953ea5b507c4681", "filename": "files/20160422_R41212_0597aa46caef3c70d074c46dc953ea5b507c4681.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4750, "name": "Air Quality" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4842, "name": "Climate Change" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 438074, "date": "2015-02-05", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:31:25.594330", "title": "EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options", "summary": "Both the Administration and Congress expect that regulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be an important issue in 2015. EPA has proposed standards to limit GHG emissions from both new and existing fossil-fueled electric power plants. The agency expects to issue final standards for these units by mid-summer of this year.\nBecause of the importance of electric power to the economy and its significance as a source of GHG emissions, the EPA standards have generated substantial interest. The economy and the health, safety, and well-being of the nation are affected by the availability of a reliable and affordable power supply. Many contend that that supply would be adversely impacted by controls on GHG emissions. At the same time, an overwhelming scientific consensus has formed around the need to slow long-term global climate change. The United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind only China, and power plants are the source of about one-third of the nation\u2019s anthropogenic GHG emissions. If the United States is to reduce its total GHG emissions, as the President has committed to do, it will be important to reduce emissions from these sources. \nLeaders of both the House and Senate in the 114th Congress have stated their opposition to the proposed standards, so Congress is likely to consider legislation to prevent EPA from finalizing or implementing the proposed rules. Such legislation could take one of several forms:\na resolution (or resolutions) of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act; \nfreestanding legislation; \nthe use of appropriations bills as a vehicle to influence EPA activity; or\namendments to the Clean Air Act.\nMore than a dozen bills were introduced in the 112th and 113th Congresses that might serve as templates for such legislation in the 114th. Among the bills introduced in the 113th Congress, the most prominent were H.R. 3826 and S.J.Res. 30. The former, which passed the House in March 2014, would have prohibited EPA from promulgating or implementing GHG emission standards for fossil-fueled electric generating units until certain stringent requirements were met, and would have required that Congress enact new legislation setting an effective date before such standards could be implemented. The Senate bill, a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, would have rendered EPA\u2019s proposed standards of no force or effect and would have prohibited EPA from promulgating similar standards unless Congress enacted new authorizing legislation.\nThis report discusses elements of the GHG controversy, providing background on stationary sources of GHG emissions and providing information regarding the options Congress has at its disposal to address GHG issues.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41212", "sha1": "dbf15a57fb459fea968cd7f548bc75557ecf5425", "filename": "files/20150205_R41212_dbf15a57fb459fea968cd7f548bc75557ecf5425.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41212", "sha1": "14b5edceda1507920d19c73595958b18dcc11ed3", "filename": "files/20150205_R41212_14b5edceda1507920d19c73595958b18dcc11ed3.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 258, "name": "Clean Air Act and Air Quality" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3878, "name": "Climate Change Science, Technology, and Policy" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc284458/", "id": "R41212_2014Feb20", "date": "2014-02-20", "retrieved": "2014-05-06T21:21:54", "title": "EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options", "summary": "This report discusses elements of the greenhouse gas (GHG) controversy, providing background on stationary sources of GHG pollution and identifying options Congress has at its disposal to address GHG issues, including: (1) resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act; (2) freestanding legislation; (3) the use of appropriations bills as a vehicle to influence EPA activity; and (4) amendments to the Clean Air Act, including legislation to establish a new GHG control regime.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140220_R41212_e44eca44ff30cbeefafc19d5aca382884d967252.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140220_R41212_e44eca44ff30cbeefafc19d5aca382884d967252.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Environmental protection", "name": "Environmental protection" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alternative energy sources", "name": "Alternative energy sources" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc812378/", "id": "R41212_2013Feb19", "date": "2013-02-19", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130219_R41212_4fa21cc7854b0dded909cc3d45c55c495566ff34.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130219_R41212_4fa21cc7854b0dded909cc3d45c55c495566ff34.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806876/", "id": "R41212_2011Apr11", "date": "2011-04-11", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110411_R41212_fa7b2fb3729325a972a204632f10a92546c5316c.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110411_R41212_fa7b2fb3729325a972a204632f10a92546c5316c.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc491170/", "id": "R41212_2010Jun08", "date": "2010-06-08", "retrieved": "2015-01-27T19:40:46", "title": "EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options", "summary": "This report discusses elements of the greenhouse gas (GHG) controversy, providing background on stationary sources of GHG pollution and identifying options Congress has at its disposal to address GHG issues, including: (1) resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act; (2) freestanding legislation; (3) the use of appropriations bills as a vehicle to influence EPA activity; and (4) amendments to the Clean Air Act, including legislation to establish a new GHG control regime.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20100608_R41212_7584d9a6fec3b8a154227d9e6f118e66b6cad7b9.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20100608_R41212_7584d9a6fec3b8a154227d9e6f118e66b6cad7b9.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Environmental protection", "name": "Environmental protection" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alternative energy sources", "name": "Alternative energy sources" } ] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Appropriations", "Environmental Policy" ] }