White House Opting For Executive Action, Not Legislation, To Implement "Climate Change" Agenda?
The informative Texas Energy and Environmental Blog reports "At a briefing this morning with reporters from The Dallas Morning Newsand other outlets, White House senior advisor David Axelrod didn't list climate change as a top priority for 2010. (The list basically consisted of finding ways to create jobs and passing a major financial regulation bill.)" and asks "is climate change is still a priority for Team Obama?"
Well, it is, but not through legislation. Instead, the Administration is acting by expanding Federal agency power and control. For example, at the January 20 meeting of the US Conference of Mayors, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson again made it clear EPA intends to control local land use for "sustainability," as we discussed here.
What's happening in Congress is and probably always has been little more than a distraction to the Administration. The real action is in the Federal bureaucracy, but almost no one is paying attention. Team Obama wants "transformative change" to the economy, and has opted for agency rules over legislation to avoid the "distractions" of the legislative process - i.e., popular opposition (the Landrieu (D-La.)/Murkowski (R-Alaska) bipartisan effort to block EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, health care, etc.) Republican Scott Brown's stunning election will encourage Team Obama to accelerate its efforts on the agency front. They know rules and guidance once issued almost never die.
