Rockefeller Proposal Would Hamstring EPA Efforts to Cut Greenhouse Gases

In a blow to the Obama administration's environmental agenda, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, will press for a two-year moratorium on the EPA's power to regulate the greenhouse gases that pour out of coal-fired power plants and factories.

The move by Rockefeller, a liberal on most matters, shows just how tough it will be for Obama and his allies to win the fight against global warming, as the cap-and-trade system intended to limit carbon emissions has been bogged down in the Senate.

"Today, we took important action to safeguard jobs, the coal industry and the entire economy, as we move toward clean coal technology," Rockefeller said Thursday in remarks reported by The Washington Post. As for global warming, Rockefeller said that Congress -- not the EPA acting under the Clean Air Act -- "must be the ideal decision-maker on such a challenging issue."

Congress is still well-stocked with pro-environment lawmakers, so Rockefeller's bill and other measures to curb EPA authority will face tough sledding this year. But the threat from the liberal Rockefeller -- albeit a senator from a coal state -- sends a powerful signal to Obama as he considers the way forward on cap and trade. The president now knows Rockefeller will not be in his corner should he consider regulating emissions administratively through the EPA.