A House bill threatens to block California from having its own vehicle emission standards. One California lawmaker vows to defeat that attempt. Eric Niiler reports from Capitol Hill.
California wants to cut automobile emissions by thirty percent before 2016. The plan needs an OK from the Environmental Protection Agency. Now, a proposed Energy Bill being pushed by coal-state lawmakers would forbid the agency from granting California the waiver.
Los Angeles Democrat Jane Harman is fighting the provision.
Harman : The legislation we are considering today, in my view, is doing no small part to the efforts of my home state over the past decade. I cannot vote to strip away California's authority to exceed federal greenhouse gas standards.
Harman says she's offering an amendment to remove the measure. It's part of a larger package of energy and pollution rules being considered by the House.
From Capitol Hill, Eric Niiler, KPBS News.