WASHINGTON – The head of the Environmental Protection Agency told the White House in December that high levels of manmade heat-trapping gases are causing global warming and endanger the American people, Sen. Barbara Boxer said Thursday after she reviewed the EPA finding, which has not been made public.
The Supreme Court ruled last year that if the EPA administrator finds greenhouse gases endanger the public, then the government must regulate them – a move the Bush administration opposes.
"This is the strongest language I have ever seen and they are trying to lock it away," said Boxer, D-Calif., who took notes on the document and shared them with reporters. "The document belongs in the hands of the American people."
Boxer said the key excerpt was: "In sum, the administrator is proposing to find that elevated levels of greenhouse gas concentrations may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public welfare."
EPA scientists examined the evidence on global warming and reported the findings after a long period of work, said Boxer, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has oversight over the agency.
In the document, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson concluded there is "compelling and robust evidence" that observed warming of the Earth's average temperature is due to manmade greenhouse gases, Boxer said. The document tells what impacts global warming will have on regions of the United States "and what we need to do about it," she said.
Fred Fielding, the White House counsel, said in a letter to Boxer that the documents she wanted, including the "draft greenhouse gas endangerment analysis," were materials that were part of White House internal discussions before a decision was made.
Fielding also said that the White House had no objection to public discussion of the contents.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said an investigation by Boxer's committee uncovered what appeared to be an effort by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to cover up the truth about global warming by interfering with scientific conclusions by the EPA.
"They act as if they're above the law," Leahy said.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the decision of whether to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act was up to Johnson.
"At the time (Johnson) was trying to make a determination whether he'd go in one direction or another," Fratto said. "The direction he chose was to hold off on making a decision and to see what Congress was going to do with the energy bill, which was relevant to the very issue because the energy bill was dealing with motor vehicle emissions."
The energy bill, which became law in December, increased motor vehicle efficiency requirements.
Fratto said the administration was complying with the Supreme Court ruling by issuing a notice of rulemaking and calling for more comment. What's more, the Clean Air Act wasn't meant to cover greenhouse gases and would create problems for regulation and "an impact on the economy," he added.
Call Renee Schoof, McClatchy Washington Bureau, (202) 383-6004.
