GOP Fury Over Energy Confronts Reality of Congress’ Snail Pace
Image: miner06_4851.jpg
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
This 2012 file photo shows the Oxbow Coal Mine, in Somerset, Colorado.
By Bloomberg News
PUBLISHED: December 23, 2016 at 9:43 am | UPDATED: December 23, 2016 at 8:03 pm
By Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Ari Natter, Bloomberg
Republicans who have vowed to roll back dozens of Obama-era coal, climate and energy regulations are up against a harsh reality: There isn’t enough time to kill them all.
A packed congressional calendar and the challenge of assembling a coalition to vote down each measure will force lawmakers to pick their targets. New cabinet secretaries can relax enforcement of certain regulations but can’t scrap them entirely without a lengthy rulemaking process.
And in some cases, such as a measure announced this week to restrict offshore oil drilling based on an obscure statute, Obama has employed novel means that may take years to untangle in court.
“More will happen than environmentalists want, but less will happen than Republicans are hoping,” said Kevin Book, managing director of the Washington-based research firm ClearView Energy Partners.
More: GOP fury over energy confronts reality of Congress’ snail pace – The Denver Post