October 27, 2005 INHOFE COMMENTS ON ADDITIONAL CLEAN AIR MODELING BY EPA WASHINGTON, DC – Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chairman of the Environment & Public Works Committee, participated in a Committee briefing today by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Steve Johnson on additional modeling of pending clean air legislative proposals. “I appreciate the amount of time and effort Administrator Johnson and his air quality staff have put into providing us with additional data on the various clean air measures pending before the Committee and the Senate,” Senator Inhofe said. “Now that we have an ‘apples to apples’ comparison of our legislative proposals along with the existing EPA regulations, I feel we can again move forward with reaching an agreement with the other side on a way to pass a cost-effective 3-P Clear Skies bill this Congress. “I would note that the modeling seems to make some unrealistic assumptions about the future cost of natural gas. With those low assumptions in mind, I’d urge caution in jumping to conclusions about the electricity costs transferred to the consumer in the proposals we’re considering. With a low domestic supply of natural gas due to current regulations and the hypocrisy of environmental special interests who advocate clean air but strongly oppose domestic exploration, we can realistically expect that natural gas prices will stay at their current high levels, if not increase even more. “I look forward to receiving a workable proposal from my colleagues in the minority on how we can proceed with providing Americans with significantly cleaner, healthier air while maintaining stable and affordable energy prices for our families and businesses.” #####