Bill To Stop State Climate Rules Shelved

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got the message loud and clear: California and 11 other states did not want to see Congress step in the way of their efforts to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles. House Democrats had been discussing just such a move, despite the recent historic Supreme Court decision that favored the states, and despite the Environmental Protection Agency's imminent decision on whether or not to grant the states' request. The effort by states is cast in many lights -- as states taking the initiative on a global issue while the federal government fails to act, as one of a multi-pronged effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and even as an unlikely shot in the arm for ailing American car makers struggling to compete in a global marketplace. Of course, it was also bitterly opposed by those same carmakers, by the Environmental Protection Agency and by bureaucrats worrying over the limitations of state rights. At least for now, the House Democrats plotting to kill the effort have backed off.