National Tribal Air Association

A staunch Senate critic of U.S. EPA moved today to kill the agency's new rule for air toxics from power plants.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) filed a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act aimed at scuttling the Utility Maximum Available Control Technology (MACT) rule for mercury and other toxic emissions. Finalized in December, the rule was published today in the Federal Register.

Inhofe said the rule was part of an onslaught of new regulations that the Obama administration has imposed on U.S. industry in recent months. He noted that the Republican-controlled House has already passed numerous bills to stop new regulations.

"The failure of the United States Senate to rein in the Obama-EPA is having a devastating impact on the pocketbooks of American families and threatens the jobs and livelihoods of millions of Americans," Inhofe said in a statement.

Administration officials and environmentalists have said the Utility MACT rule would reduce emissions linked to asthma and other illnesses. Inhofe dismissed their assertions.

"When one cuts through EPA's propaganda, the health benefits the Agency touts are virtually nonexistent," he said, adding that the rule was aimed at killing coal, an industry that provides inexpensive energy and jobs.

"With this [resolution], the Senate can either stand with American families, small businesses, and manufacturers, or continue to enable the Obama-EPA's job-killing regulatory agenda," he said.

The Congressional Review Act gives Inhofe's resolution several advantages.

If at least 40 senators sign on to Inhofe's resolution, the senator can bring it to the floor over the objections of Senate leadership. It can also pass the chamber with a simple majority vote.

While the House would be likely to pass a similar resolution, it is doubtful that either the House or Senate would be able to overcome a likely presidential veto.

Environmentalists, meanwhile, welcomed publication of the rule and condemned Inhofe's move.

"Senator Inhofe's CRA resolution would guarantee this health toll would continue every year, unabated, with EPA stripped of the tools to address those hazards," said John Walke, clean air director of the Natural Resources Defense Council.