The Murkowski Vote Cometh

After months of hard work, the Murkowski Resolution of Disapproval, will be up for a vote on June 10th.  This is an important resolution that could stop a massive EPA power grab.  FreedomWorks friend and ally Tom Borelli has a great update on this battle over at Townhall.com.

If Congress does not step in to block EPA, the agency can use the Clean Air Act as a blunt tool to widen its jurisdiction into almost every nook and cranny in our lives. Every sector of our economy — transportation, power generation and manufacturing — would be subjected to EPA’s bureaucratic reach.

Indeed, every business that uses fossil fuels to heat, cool, light or run its manufacturing operations or emits greenhouse gases would need permits from EPA to function.

The entire article is a must read.

Tom makes some very urgent, important points.

1. The EPA’s power grab is constitutionally questionable.

From a Constitutional perspective, it’s the role of our elected representatives to impose such a far-reaching regulation legislatively, and not to allow a rogue executive branch agency such as EPA to do so administratively. Elected officials can be held accountable for their deeds; bureaucrats cannot. If lawmakers truly believe that global warming is worth wrecking the economy, then let them stand up and be counted.

2. Your voice could make a big difference in this fight.

A simple majority of 51 votes is needed to pass the Senate, and the vote is expected to be very close.

Taking action by visiting and calling the district offices of your Senators could mean a great deal.  You can be sure that they are hearing from all kinds of special interest lobbyists on this issue – folks that have their bottom line, not yours, in mind.  This fight could be big line in the sand for the pending cap and trade showdown in the Senate later this summer over the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman American Power Act.

This is a close fight and there are some important Senators who really need to hear from you:

… Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (R) has not yet expressed support of the resolution. Brown, whose election was propelled by Tea Party activists, should oppose EPA’s power grab that will significantly expand government power and burden our economy.

The late Senator Ted Kennedy, whose seat Brown won in January, was a big supporter of cap-and-trade. He liked his government as big as he could get it. Brown needs to show the world that change has truly come to Massachusetts.

Senator John Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) is from a coal-producing state but has yet to come out in support of the Murkowski Resolution. Instead, Rockefeller introduced a bill that would merely delay EPA’s regulatory onslaught for a couple of years. Some believe his bill only serves to provide political cover for himself and moderate Democrats who want to be on the record as being “opposed” to EPA but stopping well short of taking a stand for their constituents.

Visit our Action Information Center for more information and to see how you can make your voice heard.

Borelli goes on to sum up the pending vote – and what is really at stake – well:

The upcoming vote on Murkowski’s resolution is fundamentally about our representative democracy: Which government body determines the fate America – elected representatives or unaccountable bureaucrats?