Democrat opposes regulation of gases

WASHINGTON — The debate in Congress over climate change, and its impact on agriculture, developed a new twist Thursday when the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee joined a Republican effort to block regulation of greenhouse gases.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said she would sign on to a resolution by Sen. Lisa A. Murkowski, R-Alaska, to overturn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed regulations to reduce carbon emissions that scientists blame for warming the Earth's climate.

"I am very concerned about the burden that EPA regulation of carbon emissions could put on our economy and have questions about the actual benefit EPA regulations would have on the environment. Heavy-handed EPA regulation, as well as the current cap-and-trade bills in Congress, will cost us jobs and put us at an even greater competitive disadvantage to China, India and others," Ms. Lincoln said in a press release.

In response, Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who serves on the Agriculture Committee, attacked the move as an "assault on the Clean Air Act" that also could imperil reductions in emissions that cause acid rain, asthma and other ills. She said the measure would "let large-scale polluters off the hook" by scrapping requirements for clean-air technology at electric power plants.

Although the measure appears to have poor odds of passage with a Democratic-led Congress and a White House in favor of such regulations, Ms. Lincoln's statement showed a crack in the Democrats' unity on an issue important to the Obama administration and illustrated the importance of the issue to agriculture.

Several farm groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Milk Producers Federation, said they favor Ms. Murkowski's proposal.

Farm Bureau noted the failure of international talks to yield emission reductions from other countries, suggesting any reductions here would cost business without much affecting worldwide pollution.

"In the absence of such an international agreement, it would be foolish for our country - from both an economic and an environmental standpoint - to undertake such regulatory action as contemplated by EPA," Farm Bureau Federation President Robert Stallman said in a statement.

Ms. Lincoln's announcement comes as the Senate prepares to return to climate change legislation. A key feature of the bill is a cap-and-trade system that essentially allows polluters to buy and sell pollution credits. Such an approach has been effective against acid rain, scientists say, but it has drawn objections from most Republican lawmakers and some Democrats in respect to carbon dioxide.

Agriculture is a major aspect of the bill as it moves forward. Farm Bureau has been firmly opposed, but the Milk Producers Federation has supported climate change legislation in general.

One sticking point is that farm groups favor a greater role for the Department of Agriculture, rather than the EPA. By declaring that greenhouse gases pose a public health hazard, the EPA places carbon emissions under the federal Clean Air Act.

As climate change legislation moves forward, farm groups are watching for restrictions on farm practices that release carbon into the atmosphere, such as frequent plowing. But farms also have an ability to take carbon from the air and tie it up in the ground, for instance, and farm groups say farmers should receive credit for such carbon offsets.

Ms. Lincoln's stance also may reflect her political situation, as she faces a potentially tough re-election bid this year.

Mrs. Gillibrand, facing the risk of a Democratic primary, came out quickly on the issue, submitting a strongly worded statement for the Senate record.

"Supporters of this amendment are essentially saying that they do not believe the worldwide scientific consensus regarding climate change, and that they don't believe greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health — despite decades of world-class science that predate it, and the clarion call from public health advocates across the country," Mrs. Gillibrand said.

Other Democrats backing the measure include Sens. Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb.