With the support of three Republicans, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to reverse the rollback of methane emissions done by the Trump administration.
Oklahoma U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and James Lankford voted against the rollback which came in the form of S.J. Res. 14, a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval of the Trump EPA’s methane policy rule.
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is a 1996 law that allows Congress to reverse federal rules implemented in the last days of a past administration with a simple majority.
In a statement after the vote, Sen. Inhofe criticized the move by the Biden administration.
“The Biden Administration is barreling ahead on a methane regulatory strategy that will be extremely hard hitting on small oil and gas producers in Oklahoma and around the country. This CRA – by eliminating key regulatory steps otherwise required to accomplish their objectives – will make their job easier.”
“In passing this resolution today, Congress is rejecting the Trump rule’s baseless interpretation of the Clean Air Act and in its place reinstating commonsense methane public health and climate protections across the entire oil and gas sector,” said Senator Carper.