Markey on Bush Global Warming Announcement and E.P.A. Subpoena Deadline

CONTACT: House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, 202-225-4081 or 202-494-4486 cell

April 16, 2008

Today President Bush is expected to lay out a new set of strategies on global warming in a Rose Garden event, including a freeze of global warming emissions by 2025, but with multiple caveats and restrictions on the way to get there. Meanwhile, today also marks a Congressional subpoena deadline for global warming documents resting inside the Bush administration's E.P.A..

A White House press secretary has indicated that the President would declare "an immediate goal that will lead to a long-term goal." In reality, the immediate goal appears to be freezing out real solutions to the threat of global warming under consideration by the Democratic House and Senate, and the long-term goal to prevent U.S. arrangement to any binding international limits on greenhouse gas pollution. As they are reported now, none of the "goals" would live up to the scientific requirements laid forth by the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or NASA's own head climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen.

At the same time that the President declares his latest "goals," his Administration continues to drag its feet in responding to inquiries from the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming into suggested climate change rules prepared by their own E.P.A..

Today marks the deadline for E.P.A. Administrator Stephen Johnson to hand over global warming documents to Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee. After months of stalling, and even a request for an extension until today (which was granted last Friday), today's E.P.A. response could provide a sharp contrast between Bush administration "goals" and administration action.

In 12-0 bipartisan vote, the Select Committee issued a subpoena to Administrator Johnson and the E.P.A. 2 weeks ago for documents that would detail the status of 2 major decisions within the EPA: on whether the Bush administration considers greenhouse gas emissions to be a danger to human health and welfare, a so-called "endangerment finding"; and regulations to reduce these global warming emissions from motor vehicles.

The Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v E.P.A. directed E.P.A. to determine whether greenhouse gas emissions cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. If E.P.A. makes this so-called "endangerment finding," the Supreme Court said, then it must regulate these emissions from motor vehicles. In its response to the Supreme Court decision, E.P.A. spent about 6 months conducting intensive analysis and, according to E.P.A. staff disclosures to Congress, Johnson signed off on the Agency's positive endangerment finding as well as the suggested regulations.

According to numerous statements made by Johnson and other Bush administration officials, the proposals were to be released publicly by the end of 2007 and finalized by the end of 2008. That has not occurred. Instead, reports have indicated that E.P.A. has ceased all work in this area, even though the endangerment finding, as well as a completed suggestion to regulate emissions from motor vehicles (to levels that correspond to a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2018), were forwarded to other White House and federal agencies for review in December.

More information on the exchanges between Chairman Markey and Johnson is accessible HERE.

If the E.P.A. fails to comply with today's deadline, Johnson will have triggered a potential contempt process. Chairman Markey will consult with House leadership to advance action against Johnson and the EPA. In order to issue a contempt order, the Select Committee would need a simple majority vote, and the order would have to be approved by the House. No dates have been set for either vote.

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