"From Climate Bill Co-Sponsor to EPA Critic, Murkowski's Motives Draw Scrutiny"

"Sen. Lisa Murkowski has built a reputation in her eight years in Washington as a moderate Republican willing to engage with Democrats and environmentalists in the climate change debate.

But Murkowski, who last year took on a much higher profile in the GOP leadership, is now at the center of a storm by pushing to strip U.S. EPA of its ability to regulate for greenhouse gas emissions.

Murkowski insists that her efforts -- which could come to a head on the Senate floor as early as Wednesday -- are a check on unwieldy and costly rules that could hamstring the recovering economy. And while she is concerned about the effects that climate change is having back home in Alaska, she criticizes the Obama administration and Democrats for using the threat of EPA regulations to bully lawmakers into voting for a much broader global warming bill."

Darren Samuelsohn reports for ClimateWire January 15, 2010.

See Also:

"Lobbyist Clients Gave Heavily To Murkowski Campaigns" (Politico)

"Why Murkowski May Not Use the Debt Ceiling To Challenge EPA on Climate" (E2 Wire/The Hill)

"Lobbyists Make Case at OMB" (The Hill)

"Environmentalists Upset Over Oil Industry Input In New Rules" (Huffington Post)

"Power Providers Show Sharp Divides on Senate Climate Bill" (ClimateWire)

"The Murkowski-Holmstead Money Link" (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington)

Campaign Finance Summaries on Lisa Murkowski (Center for Responsive Politics)