House GOP presses federal agencies for climate change plans

The House GOP is pressing federal agencies for more information about President Obama’s climate change plans.

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), along with other Republican members of the panel, sent letters on Thursday to 11 agencies requesting information about what their roles would be in Obama’s climate agenda.

Upton asked 13 agencies to attend a hearing on Obama’s climate change policies in September, but the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Department were the only two that showed up. 

{mosads}”Our oversight of the Obama administration’s climate activities will continue,” said Energy and Power subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) in a statement on Thursday. “Congress’ role is to conduct thorough oversight of agency spending and actions.”

“With billions of dollars currently being spent annually on climate change activities, Congress and the public should understand the scope of what the federal government is doing, how the billions of dollars are being spent, and what it will accomplish.”

The committee also sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell, requesting information on the entire scope of climate change actions planned by the White House. 

A report by the OMB released in August said spending on climate change activities across 18 agencies would be over $22 billion in 2013. 

The letters sent out by Energy and Commerce can be found here.