EPA’s upcoming emissions rule faces bipartisan criticism as lawmakers call for further assessment and delays.

A potential controversy is brewing as EPA prepares to finalize a final rule to reduce planet-warming emissions at existing coal- and new gas-fired power plants. Conservative Republicans and centrist Democrats, while progressive congressional climate hawks are expecting disappointment over a rule that they argue falls short of its original, more ambitious aspirations. Some House Democrats have urged EPA Administrator Michael Regan to defer finalizing the proposed rules until an updated reliability assessment of the proposal is complete and made public. Other lawmakers, including Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), the co-chair of the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus, have also raised concerns about the administration’s reliance on regulations rather than regulations. The Biden administration has already agreed to delay a key component of its initial draft power plant rule, initially intended to require new and existing full-time gas plants to capture 90 percent of their emissions by 2035, while existing coal and coal-fired plants that planned to remain online in the next 15 years would need to meet this target.