House Rejects Obama’s Climate Rules
The votes come as the president is in Paris at the UN conference on global warming.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday defied the president and approved two聽resolutions blocking EPA rules regulating power plants.
While both measures, which previously passed the Senate, will likely not withstand veto, they are a bit of an聽embarrassment to Barack Obama, who is in Paris arguing for ways to ameliorate manmade climate change.
The House聽 to block EPA rules governing existing power plants to block rules for new or modified power plants, .
The votes were largely along party lines, with most Democrats voting “nay” and most Republicans聽voting “yea.”
Republicans generally argue that the聽power plant聽rules will hurt America’s economy, and many are skeptical that climate change is a reality. Most Democrats, however, agree with Obama’s position.
Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii voted against both EPA measures. Her fellow Democrat, Mark Takai, missed the votes; he is said to be recuperating聽from pancreatic cancer surgery.
House members did manage to agree on another聽measure, this one the聽Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act. The vote , with GOP member Justin Amash of Michigan the lone no vote.
They also passed by a the聽Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016. Gabbard voted against it.
