Congress

Key members of Congress are introducing legislation giving EPA greater authority over tracking and managing the federal government's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which could signal a clash over whether the agency or the Department of Energy (DOE) tracks emissions in any future climate change control regime.

Supporters of the bills say the legislation is intended to give EPA a significant new role in any future GHG program and also signals concerns that DOE's voluntary reporting mechanism --- known as the 1605(b) registry --- does not adequately track emissions.

House appropriators are calling for EPA to administer millions of dollars in new funding for climate change adaptation programs in a bill that would create a new scientific panel that would identify needed research on how to adjust to the effects of global warming.

The funding proposal would be part of a major increase in EPA's budget for climate change and other areas compared to the president's request, as outlined in a spending bill that a House subcommittee marked up on May 23.

A just-unveiled House bill expanding the scope of EPA's Clean Water Act jurisdiction is sparking debate among Senate lawmakers, industry and some conservationists who argue it could clash with the Constitution's commerce clause. H.R. 2421, introduced May 22 by Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, would make all U.S. waters subject to the water law, rather than the law's current focus on "navigable" waters.

EPA is preparing in the coming weeks to release an eagerly awaited report to Congress detailing the quality of the nation's waters, and its findings could spur House lawmakers to ramp up pressure on the agency to impose stricter regulations on nonpoint source pollution including agricultural runoff.