The Bush administration probably wouldn't spend so much time obfuscating greenhouse gas regulation if it knew Congressional Democrats were just as willing to do the job. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) is pushing legislation which would forbid states from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. The proposal would, as The Washington Post put it today, "kneecap" the effort of 12 states to institute their own program. Under the Clean Air Act, those states need EPA to grant them a waiver in order to begin regulating. The proposal removes EPA's authority to grant those waivers. The proposal would effectively overturn a Supreme Court decision which found greenhouse gas emissions could be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Reactionary legislation to overturn Supreme Court decisions is probably not what the founding fathers had in mind. Nonetheless, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) is sticking up for Boucher's proposal. Dingell claims the Court decision is causing "wonderful confusion." The only thing confusing is the actions of Boucher and Dingell. To counter, 11 committee Democrats sent a letter to Dingell and Boucher expressing their "serious concern" about the proposed legislation, according to a BNA news service article (subscription). It is unclear what kind of legislation will emerge from the committee, but the situation will only worsen as time passes. Boucher and Dingell have given EPA an advantage: the agency can continue to stall on the waiver request knowing law may eventually prohibit EPA from granting it. Then EPA can say, "Sorry states, Congress says we can't grant your waiver." Won't Democrats look foolish then? The House needs to drop this crazy proposal and let the states do their thing. Reg•Watch Update: Democrats Failing on CO2 Regulation: Part 2