Republican lawmakers have two options next year for rolling back EPA’s methane fee. Neither one is easy.
A GOP-controlled House and Senate could veto the implementing regulations for the fee via the Congressional Review Act. Or they could repeal the underlying law that created the fee through budget reconciliation — the same maneuver Democrats used to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, giving rise to the fee.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who will take over the chairmanship of the Environment and Public Works Committee next year, nodded to both options in a recent interview with POLITICO.
“We’re definitely looking at that for reconciliation because it does have a budgetary impact,” Capito said of the fee for excess methane from oil and gas operations. It kicks in next year based on 2024 emissions.
