Ohio Dem to Obama: Dial Back EPA Carbon Regs

While Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown isn't going so far as to introduce legislation to roll back the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate greenhouse gases, he's asking President Barack Obama to reconsider the effects of the Clean Air Act mandate to limit carbon emissions.

In a Feb. 28 letter to the White House, the Ohio lawmaker called for an "assessment of the economic repercussions and potential unintended consequences of the greenhouse gas regulation" currently going into effect.

The concern is not a new one for Brown, who faces a tough reelection campaign in 2012, observes The Hill. "But the new letter could be a political blow to advocates of EPA's emissions rules," who are already contending with destroy or delay initiatives from Republicans and even centrist Democrats, The Hill adds.

Among the GOP efforts is this month's House spending bill defunding the EPA climate rules. From the Democratic side, a bill from West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller proposing a two-year halt on the EPA's ability to curb power plants has six Democratic co-sponsors.

A Brown spokeswoman told The Hill that Brown has not signed onto the Rockefeller bill, and is not proposing a variation of his own - yet. But his letter asks Obama to "consider changes" to "burdensome permitting requirements" for manufacturers, farmers, and power producers, along with "assurances that greenhouse gas reductions will be achieved in ways that protect and enhance our nation's competitiveness."