[font face=Serif][font size=5]House panel approves bill with deep cuts for EPA[/font]

By DARREN GOODE | 7/24/13 5:02 AM EDT

[font size=3]Over fierce Democratic objections, House Republicans took initial steps Tuesday toward slashing the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by a third while blocking a central part of President Barack Obama’s climate agenda.

The Appropriations Interior and Environment subcommittee voted 7-4 to send the full committee a $24.3 billion spending plan that would deliver a nearly 19 percent cut to the EPA and the Interior Department, going beyond the reductions agreed to under sequestration. The bill includes a 34 percent cut in the EPA’s budget, leaving the agency $5.5 billion next year.

Republican appropriators said they’re forced to make such heavy cuts in discretionary spending because the White House and Congress haven’t made a deal to sufficiently reduce mandatory spending, such as entitlements.

…

Republicans included a slew of riders that would block EPA actions, including the agency’s proposals to control greenhouse gas emissions from power plants — a central part of Obama’s plans to address climate change. The bill would also block the EPA from moving ahead with its proposed Tier 3 rule on sulfur in gasoline or finishing its rule for cooling towers on power plants and major manufacturing facilities.

…[/font][/font]