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Vigilance Home PageEnvironmental Public Policies
The content of this web page is arranged under the following
headings:
1. Congressional Review Act
2. Commercial Trucks and Buses Greenhouse Gas Emissions
3. Power Plant Carbon Emissions
1. Congressional Review Act
Environmental regulations finalized since mid-May 2016 may be eligible for repeal under a rarely used law called the Congressional Review Act of 1996. The new Congress, which will convene January 3, 2017, will be able to count back 60 legislative days from the final legislative day of the 2016 Congress to find regulations eligible to be repealed. The earlier the 2016 Congress adjourns, the further back in time lawmakers can go to target the 2016 rules they do not like. The new 2017 Congress will have 45 legislative days to repeal any eligible rule it does not like. The Congressional Review Act, which has been used successfully only once in 20 years, speeds up the repeal process by requiring only a simple majority to undo regulations. That means Senate Democrats cannot mount a filibuster to stop republicans from acting. President Trump is likely to sign that would repeal Obama administration rules. President Obama, not surprisingly, vetoed four resolutions passed by Congress to overturn his regulations. (Source: Article in the USA Today section of The Indianapolis Star on November 16, 2016.)
2. Commercial Trucks and Buses Greenhouse Gas Emissions
A rule from the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from trucks and buses might be repealed under the Congressional Review Act. (Source: Article in the USA Today section of The Indianapolis Star on November 16, 2016.)
3. Power Plant Carbon Emissions
During his campaign for the White House, President Trump (a climate-change skeptic) promised to get rid of the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan to give a boost to the declining U.S. coal industry. The Clean Power Plan would curb carbon emissions from power plants by 32% by 2030. (Source: Article in the USA Today section of The Indianapolis Star on November 21, 2016.)
This page was last updated on 02/14/17.