Opposition mounted among House Democrats on Thursday to an energy proposal that would block California and 11 states from regulating tailpipe emissions.
At a hearing on a comprehensive bill that would increase mileage standards for vehicles and promote alternative sources of energy, a number of Democrats said they would try to defeat the emissions plan. It would limit state efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate them.
That idea "is cutting the legs out from under the states just as they are starting to sprint forward on carbon pollution regulation," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., already has announced her opposition.
Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said she would propose removing the emissions plan from the overall bill next week. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., released a letter signed by a dozen Democrats opposed to the proposal from Rep. Rick Boucher, who heads a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.
The subcommittee hearing dealt with the wide-ranging energy legislation that would require the auto industry to meet gas mileage standards of at least 36 miles per gallon for passenger cars after 2021 and 30 mpg for trucks after 2024.
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