WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A new Congressional report says the Environmental Protection Agency exaggerated the cost of stricter air pollution controls.
The Congressional Research Service found that an EPA comparison of the Bush administration's "Clear Skies" bill with competing legislation also underestimated the economic benefits of reducing air pollution, the Washington Post reported.
The EPA report was done at the request of Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., sponsor of one of the competing bills.
"Although it represents a step toward understanding the impacts of legislative options, EPA's analysis is not as useful as one could hope," the Research Service report said. "The result is an analysis that some will argue is no longer sufficiently up-to-date to contribute substantially to congressional debate."
Both Carper and Sen. Jim Jeffords, Ind.-Vt., have introduced bills that would cut most pollutants more steeply than the Bush bill, which is stalled in the Senate.
