Taking The Hill
Senate Sulfur Regulatory Hearing
The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee held a hearing on the EPA's proposed heavy-duty sulfur rule. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the subcommittee, threatened to invoke the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to vote down federal agency rules, if the agency does not properly address his concerns about potential supply disruptions. Bob Preciasepe, EPA air administrator, outlined the agency's proposal, which would cut on-road diesel sulfur by 97 percent from the current cap of 500 parts per million.CRS Cites Pipelines, Ethanol For High Gas Prices in Midwest
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released a report claiming that pipeline troubles and the use of reformulated gasoline with ethanol are the main factors in the rise of gasoline prices in the Midwest. The report claims that for every gallon of gas sold in Milwaukee and Chicago, pipeline problems have driven up the prices roughly 25 cents. Another 25 cents is attributed to the use of reformulated gas with ethanol, an oxygenate that reduces harmful emissions little used outside the two cities. The report depicts gas prices in the Midwest as fundamentally a supply-and-demand problem.House Slaps Ergonomics Rule
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 220-203 to approve a rider to the FY 2001 Department of Labor appropriations that would prohibit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from issuing the final version of its ergonomics proposal. Sixteen Southern Democrats supported the rider, while 14 Northeastern Republicans opposed the measure. Critics have claimed that the agency is rushing to finish the rule before the end of the Clinton Administration. (Read more about this topic.)House Passes Estate Tax Repeal Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed an estate tax repeal bill. The bill passed by a 279-136 margin. The Senate is considering taking up the measure before the August recess. President Clinton has threatened to veto the legislation. That is, until the most recent budget surplus projections. The new projections show that the surplus will be at least $1 trillion more over the next decade than previously estimated. Clinton has proposed to accept the tax repeal if Republicans will support his prescription drug benefit program.U.S. House Restricts EPA Smog Data
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from identifying regions with dangerously high smog levels. The vote came as a move to prevent federal regulators from enforcing tough new clean air rules. Fifty-eight Democrats crossed the aisle to support the Republican measure to postpone an EPA initiative to improve air quality damaged by emissions from factories and automobiles.
AutoInc. Magazine ® Vol.XLVIII, August 2000
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