Senate vote: Should EPA have authority to regulate greenhouse gases?

With oil bubbling in the Gulf of Mexico and US energy policy on hold, the US Senate plans to vote Thursday on whether to yank federal regulators' authority to clamp down on emissions of greenhouse gases.

President Obama had offered Congress what some dubbed a "carrot and stick" approach – the “carrot” being that lawmakers could regulate such emissions themselves in a comprehensive energy-climate bill, or else come up against a regulatory "stick" from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Despite passage of an energy-climate bill in the House of Representatives last year, the US Senate version has stalled. Yet looming like a locomotive on the tracks, the EPA says it will begin regulating carbon emissions from the largest smokestack sources next year.

IN PICTURES: Nuclear power around the world

EPA scientists formally concluded last year that carbon emissions were a danger to human health and the environment. Federal regulatory machinery began to clank forward – Mr. Obama's "stick."

Now comes Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) of Alaska with a "Resolution of Disapproval." The explicit aim is to get rid of the stick by nullifying the EPA's "endangerment" finding that carbon emissions are a hazard.

The disapproval resolution stands little chance of becoming law because Obama threatened Wednesday to veto the bill if it reaches his desk. But as a piece of political theater, it has some big implications.

On the one hand, if it passes the Senate – only 51 votes are needed – it would mean the EPA would lose the ability to regulate vehicle tailpipe emissions. That would reduce America’s overall amount of oil savings by more than 450 million barrels, the agency has said. [Editor's note: The original version gave the wrong amount of oil savings.]

On the other hand, even if it doesn't pass the Senate, Senator Murkowski's resolution could harden battle lines and undercut any hope of getting a comprehensive energy-climate bill through the Senate. It also could spark the House to vote for a similar bill, leaving Obama with a revolt on his hands.

1 | 2

Next