WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and chief House proponent of raising fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon, deplored the White House’s Statement of Administration Policy on the Energy Bill. The White House threatened to veto the bill unless Congress reverses the landmark Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA that validated the authority of the EPA to cut heat-trapping emissions from cars, trucks and SUVs. Such a move would also imperil the efforts of 17 states, including Massachusetts, that have used their Clean Air Act authority to establish clean car programs.

“As delegates from almost 200 nations meet in Bali to lay the groundwork for a treaty to combat global warming, and an energy bill is now on the table that would raise fuel economy standards for America’s vehicles, President Bush has once again shown his utter disregard for the environment, our economy, and the health of our planet,” said Rep. Markey. “By asking Congress to undo the landmark Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, the President has effectively thumbed his nose at the rest of the world.

“As every other country in the world debates how best to combat the clear and present danger of rising carbon dioxide emissions, the Bush Administration is still trying to make up its mind about whether carbon dioxide emissions pose a danger at all.”

On April 2, 2007, the Supreme Court determined in Massachusetts v. EPA that EPA has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from motor vehicles, and that it must do so if it determined that these emissions endangered public health or welfare.

In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the President issued an Executive Order on May 14, 2007, directing EPA to coordinate with the Department of Transportation and other agencies in developing any rule covering greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, and EPA staff have been working hard to conduct the necessary technical analysis and craft a rule by the end of this year.

While the Supreme Court decision said that there was no conflict associated with two agencies having authority over motor vehicle regulations, the President is now threatening to veto the entire energy bill on this question—one that has already been asked and answered by the Supreme Court, and one that would also effectively throw out all of the work the President ordered the EPA to do in May.

The Energy Bill passed by the House of Representatives yesterday directs the Department of Transportation to set fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks of at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020. Despite efforts by auto industry supporters to reverse the April Supreme Court decision, the House chose to preserve EPA’s full authority in the bill it passed yesterday.

The White House’s December 6, 2007 Statement of Administration Policy on the Energy Bill states that the energy bill “needs to clarify one agency as the sole entity, after consultation with other affected agencies, to be responsible for a single national regulatory standard for both fuel economy and tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.”

“The Bush Administration is saying to Congress, ‘Please take away the authority I have to cut emissions, so I don’t have to,’” concluded Markey. “It follows years of legal wrangling by the White House to avoid any decisive action on global warming, and now they are willing to take down the entire energy bill with their climate inaction scheme.”