McConnell seeks Senate showdown on EPA climate rules

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) moved Tuesday to force a political showdown over Environmental Protection Agency climate change regulations on the floor of the Senate.

McConnell introduced an amendment to a small-business bill that would permanently block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources like power plants and refineries. The small-business bill is currently on the Senate floor.

“These new regulations would destroy jobs at a time when Americans need them most,” McConnell said in a floor statement Tuesday. “And they’d be especially devastating for states like Kentucky and other coal states.”

“They’re attempting to do through regulation what they couldn’t do through legislation, regardless of whether the American people want it or not,” McConnell said. “This is an insult to the millions of Americans who are already struggling to make ends meet or find a job.”
 
McConnell added that it was his hope "that we will vote to stop this power grab in its tracks."

The amendment language mirrors a bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and in the House by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.).

Inhofe’s bill has so far won the support of one Senate Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and 42 Republicans. A vote on the bill would force Democrats to weigh in on the proposal.

The House version of the bill is being considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday. Republicans are expected to approve the legislation and a vote is expected on the House floor before Easter.

A spokesman for McConnell said the minority leader plans to speak with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) about trying to secure a vote on the amendment.

—The Hill's Josiah Ryan and Ben Geman contributed to this report.