By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
House Republicans plan to hold their first hearing Friday on draft legislation that would block any new Environmental Protection Agency regulations that would raise energy prices or cost jobs, their latest bid to thwart the Obama administration's efforts to cut pollution from coal.
House Republicans will have to wait for their chance to question former top Environmental Protection Agency official Al Armendariz, who became notorious for his pledge to "crucify" oil and gas companies in order to set a regulatory example.
The Obama campaign changed its website Thursday night to include a reference to "clean coal" in the president's "all-of-the-above" energy plan after Republicans lawmakers criticized the omission.
The spectacular failure of Solyndra opened a lot of eyes. Yet the bankrupt solar panel manufacturer is far from the only fly-by-night outfit to take advantage of the current "green energy" fad. No program is more ripe for abuse than the renewable fuel standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Republicans and business leaders are urging President Obama to turn talk of creating jobs into action by green-lighting a long-delayed $7 billion expansion of a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline that supporters say will create 20,000 jobs.
"Union Station is the perfect place to celebrate preservation," said first lady Laura Bush at the Restore America gala Tuesday night. As trains rumbled beneath the restored train terminal's East Hall, Mrs. Bush stood before a gathering of 356 preservationists to accept one of five "hero" awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Home and Garden Television (HGTV).
"It is commonsense policy to want to understand how any rule costing over a billion dollars will affect energy prices, employment, and the economy," Whitfield said. "This will protect consumers and will make sure EPA does its job."
"Under President Obama, the Environmental Protection Agency has cranked out one costly anti-coal regulation after another," said Rep. Ed Whitfield, Kentucky Republican and subcommittee chairman. "The agency tells us we need these measures to protect us from global warming, but, in my view, the cure is considerably worse than the disease."
