The Associated Press is reporting that at today's Senate hearing on how EPA should respond to Mass. v. EPA, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson testified that he is unwilling to commit to a timetable for action, insisting he's "not going to be forced into making a snap decision." Given that the petition for rulemaking that gave rise to the ruling was filed during the previous millennium, Johnson's concern about making snap decisions evidently rang hollow. Sen. Barbara Boxer, Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, continued to press him, calling the ruling "an unmistakable green light to take action now." Johnson declined, however, to say whether EPA would respond even within the next four months.
When asked to identify our most serious environmental challenge, Johnson again refused to say, explaining "I don't see one being most serious." Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse couldn't contain himself, responding to Johnson: "You astonish me."
Former EPA Administrators William Reilly and Carol Browner later testified that carbon dioxide must be regulated due to its impact on global warming.
(More coverage from the LA Times and Boston Globe)
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