HELICOPTER OVERFLIGHTS OF NATIONAL PARKS
Voting 193 for and 236 against, the House on July 19,2023, defeated an amendment to HR 3935 (above) that sought to require the National Park Service to consider not just environmental concerns but also the profits of helicopter companies when it sets rules limiting or prohibiting helicopter overflights of national parks.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Supporter Troy Nehls, R-Texas, said: “Unfortunately, the Biden administration is attempting to limit the number of air tours at…our national parks, all at the request, go figure, no surprise, of certain environmental stakeholders. This is irresponsible. It’s un-American.”
Opponent Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said the rules “protect the sanctity of parks from incessant helicopter overflights, which can disrupt both wildlife and the natural beauty…that visitors enjoy.”
A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR HOUSEHOLD STOVES
The House on June 14, 2023, voted, 249 for and 181 against, to nullify a Department of Energy rule intended to increase the efficiency and safety of gas cooking tops and gas- and electric-powered kitchen ovens. In addition to lowering utility bills, the rule is intended to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and other gases that pollute households and contribute to global warming. Republicans said the rule wrongly dictates the types of appliances available to consumers and would require many stoves now in use to be replaced. With this vote, the House passed a bill (HR 1640) that would prohibit the rule from taking effect.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Supporter Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., said: “From day one, President Biden has waged war on American energy, doing everything possible to phase out the use of all fossil fuels, including American-produced oil and clean-burning, American-produced natural gas. Now, they are taking it a step further. They are dictating what appliances Americans can purchase for their homes.”
Opponent Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said: “After meddling in our bedrooms and in our bathrooms…now Republicans are turning their attention to our kitchens…. There is a growing body of science that indicates that burning natural gas increases the chances of childhood asthma and can worsen preexisting heart and lung issues. Using gas in the home…can involve methane leaks that are important as we deal with the climate crisis.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate, where its prospects were uncertain.
REDUCING AIR POLLUTION BY HEAVY TRUCKS
The House on May 23, 2023, voted to nullify a four-month-old Environmental Protection Agency rule placing stricter emission standards on buses and heavy-duty trucks ranging from full-size pickups to 18-wheelers. The rule is designed to reduce emissions of ozone, particulate matter and other pollutants starting with the 2027 model year in the first upgrade of clean-air standards for heavy-duty vehicles in 20 years. The rule is projected to achieve a nearly 50 percent cut by 2045 in vehicle emissions of nitrogen oxide formed by the burning of fossil fuels. The resolution of disapproval (SJ Res 11), adopted by a vote of 221 for and 203 against, would kill the rule.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Supporter Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, called the rule “just the latest step by the Biden administration to electrify the transportation sector and burden American families in the process….The cost of these senseless regulations would inevitably be passed on to the American consumer through higher retail prices and increased inflation.”
Opponent Kathy Castor, D-Fla., said: “Think about your friends and family members with asthma or heart disease or some kind of lung infection….It is important to tackle the problem of heavy-duty trucks and buses. Why? They constitute about 6 percent of the vehicles on the road but 59 percent of smog-producing elements….nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter.”
A yes vote was to send the resolution to the Senate, where its prospects were uncertain.
REPEALING CLEAN WATER RULE
The House on March 9, 2023, voted, 227 for and 198 against, to kill a new Biden administration rule that the 1972 Clean Water Act protects headwaters, wetlands and other waters upstream of the navigable waters directly covered by the half-century-old act. The rule would exempt non-navigable waters historically used in farming. Proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers, the “Waters of the United States Rule” is scheduled to take effect March 20, replacing a Trump administration rule that only lightly regulates non-navigable waters. This vote adopted a resolution (HJ Res 27) that would repeal the rule.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Supporter Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., said: “The feds have far exceeded their authority under the Clean Water Act and have expanded on the scope and intent of the original law by redefining what is a navigable water of the United States…. In many instances, these new and punitive regulations are a de facto taking of private property. Wyoming farmers, ranchers, builders, energy producers and small business owners…would suffer significantly if these changes to the navigable waters of the United States definition were enacted.”
Opponent Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., said: “In New Mexico, water is life, water is sacred, water is culture, and water is fundamental to everything that we do and everything that we are. For years, our state and our country and our communities have ridden the roller coaster of regulatory rollbacks on the Clean Water Act, but I never could have imagined that in the year 2023, we would be voting on a bill to gut the rule that protects our streams and rivers and our right to have clean water.”
A yes vote was to send the measure to the Senate, where its fate was uncertain.