Lisa Jackson’s Rough Ride

The Environmental Protection Agency’s rough ride in Congress continued yesterday. The House Agriculture Committee called in Administrator Lisa Jackson for a grilling on what it called her “aggressive regulatory agenda (pursued) at the expense of the livelihoods of America’s farmers and ranchers.”

In a statement issued after the hearing, Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., went even further. EPA’s agenda, he said, is “at odds with congressional intent, defies common sense and lacks any kind of understanding or consideration for the economic impact it has on the livelihoods of those who feed us.”

Meanwhile, over at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, legislation prohibiting the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act sailed through the panel's Energy and Power Subcommittee. The "Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011" was approved on a voice vote and is expected to have just as easy a time before the full committee next week.

The bill could pass the House later in the spring and may even pass the Senate, where a companion measure is pending. But then its future gets cloudy, since President Obama has vowed to veto any stand-alone legislation along these lines.