House passes bill targeting ‘Social Cost of Carbon’

WASHINGTON, September 20, 2017 - The House of Representatives last week passed HR 3354, the “Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act of 2018.” The bill would, among other things, prohibit funds for implementing the Obama administration’s Social Cost of Carbon regulations. “This package builds on the (Trump) administration’s efforts to reduce bureaucracy and promote regulatory certainty across the Department of the Interior and other federal land management agencies,” House Natural Resources Chair Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said in a statement. The bill would also prohibit funds from being used to finalize, implement or enforce the Obama administration’s final Arctic Rule restricting offshore oil and natural gas production in Alaska. HR 3354 includes policies to suppress wildfires, reclaim mine lands and restricts funding for a rule regulating venting and flaring of gases during drilling.