Senator Ted Cruz of Texas led a coalition of 12 other Republicans on Monday, writing to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to express concern over a recent climate rule that could impact the agency's mission.
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In the letter, Cruz — the ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee — and all other committee Republicans demanded that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson abandon the rule which was proposed in November and requires federal contractors to disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data.
The 13 GOP lawmakers said the regulation was not based in science and would lead to political favoritism.
"Congress never granted NASA or the other partnering agencies the statutory authority to set the GHG emission standards for themselves or their contractors," Cruz and the other committee Republicans wrote.
"As for the environmental benefits, the proposed rule admits they would be hard to even quantify and that ‘increased public transparency and accountability may prompt suppliers to take action following a ‘what gets measured gets managed’ mantra.’"
The letter argued the "highly politicized regulation" would divert the agency's attention away from its stated mission to "explore the unknown in air and space, innovate for the benefit of humanity, and inspire the world through discovery."
Cruz and the other Republicans added that the rule would decrease competition among contractors which they warned is "a major problem already facing federal contracting."
Cruz and the other Republicans added that the rule would decrease competition among contractors which they warned is "a major problem already facing federal contracting."
"In addition to enriching the politically left-aligned consultants that will supposedly track a company’s impact on GHG emissions, there is no practical way to verify or audit the validity of these disclosures," the letter concluded.
"This ‘data’ may, however, lead to numerous lawsuits and enforcement actions that will add to the cost and delays associated with federal procurement." they wrote.
"The only true beneficiaries of this proposed rule will be nonprofits, consultants, and trial lawyers claiming to be self-appointed guardians against weather-related catastrophe." ■