Today, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag issued a statement denying that his office made any attempt to push back against the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent notice that called greenhouse gases a threat to the public.

About two weeks ago, I wrote about a strange document found in EPA’s rulemaking docket for its endangerment finding. The document, titled, "First (1st) Round of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Comments to USEPA on the Proposed Findings," is marked deliberative under attorney-client privilege. It is not dated, and it is unclear exactly who wrote it. The document argues that regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act (which the endangerment finding obligates of EPA) may be too expensive to be viable. It also questions some of EPA scientific conclusions on climate change.

This afternoon, Senate Republicans tried to use the document to shame EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) said the document was “smoking gun” evidence that Jackson should not have approved the endangerment finding. He cited the costs of regulating and the scientific uncertainty claims made by OMB.

Orszag, in an apparent attempt to quash any appearance of division inside the Obama White House, said, “Any reports suggesting that OMB was opposed to the finding are unfounded.”

Orszag says the document represents the thoughts of various administration officials collected during OMB’s review of the endangerment finding. (EPA is required to submit draft rules to OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. OMB then shares the draft with other agencies for government-wide comment.)

Still, the contents of the document are troubling. And, as mentioned a few weeks back, EPA made minor changes to the actual text of the endangerment finding, likely at the behest of OMB. Thankfully, in the face of this pressure, Jackson and her team decided to proceed with the logical conclusion that climate-warming gases are harming and will continue to harm public health and welfare.