Video: Inhofe on EPA battle, WH budget

Yesterday, I sat down with Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) to discuss the latest developments in his battle to rein in the EPA and Lisa Jackson. Inhofe says that Barack Obama may have failed to succeed in getting cap-and-trade passed, but Inhofe says that Obama has been attempting to get the same result through EPA regulatory expansion. The Senator has a remarkable depth of expertise in the energy sector, which he puts to good use in this conversation. If we were allowed to get to our own resources, we would have enough oil and natural gas to supply American power for the next century, Inhofe says.

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Of course, with the White House releasing its budget proposal, we also spoke about the surprisingly weak effort from Obama to contain spending. Inhofe predicts that the Senate Democrats will split from the President on this budget, especially those who are running in red states in 2012 — a number Inhofe puts at 11. “There are trillions in increases,” Inhofe says, “but [defense cuts] are the only cuts I can find in this,” and says that Obama’s foreign policy and defense policy seems to rest on the notion that nations will hold hands and sing Kumbaya.

When we get back to the EPA, I mention the fight Texas and Governor Rick Perry have on their hands, to which Inhofe says, “He’s looking better and better in the president’s race.” When I say that Perry has issued a string of denials, Inhofe responds, “Well, we can all be cute about that.” Inhofe reminded me that the EPA killed eleven coal-fired power plants in Texas a year ago, and also promised that his home state of Oklahoma will shortly get into the fight as well.

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