In explaining his opposition to any move by President Obama to make a nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sen. Jim Inhofe said two environmental legal battles are critically at stake.
Speaking Wednesday on the Senate floor, the Republican Senator, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works said an Obama appointment to the court could affect the fights against the Waters of the U.S. rule and the Clean Power Plan.
“You have to go all the way back to 1888—128 years—before you find a similar situation to the one we are in today. That is the last time a vacancy arose during an election year and was filled by a Senate from a party opposite of the president,” explained Inhofe. “Furthermore, this president hasn’t worked with Congress on much, why should we work with him on this?”
But the environmental issues concern him most as Congress and the President debate how to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
“If the Supreme Court is split 4-4 in these two cases, the injunctions of the lower courts will stand until the underlying issues are fully litigated,” said Inhofe. “Before the recess, one of Scalia’s last heroic acts was a 5-4 vote of the Supreme Court to stay the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, meaning the rule is on hold until litigation is complete.”
The other issue, referred to as WOTUS, will be before the court as well.
“The Waters of the United States rule that would take the jurisdiction of our water from the states and turn it over to the federal government was stayed by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals—this too will likely make its way to the Supreme Court,” added the Senator. “The Clean Power Plan would cost $292 billion and mandates carbon dioxide cuts from the power sector to meet Obama’s climate pledge of reducing CO2 by 26 to 28 percent by 2025—this would cause double digit electricity price increases in 40 states.
Inhofe told the senators the two rules as well as other executive actions and regulations will have a big impact on people and the nation’s economy “and will all likely be decided by the Supreme Court.”
Listen to some of his comments.