The Bush administration recently attempted to hide an analysis showing that a rival Senate plan would achieve greater public health and environmental benefits than the president’s Clear Skies Initiative, at only a slightly higher cost. The competing bill (S. 3135), introduced by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE) and endorsed by a bipartisan group of senators, would tighten an existing cap on sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and would impose new restrictions on nitrogen oxides (NOx) and mercury. Unlike the administration’s plan, Carper’s bill, dubbed the “Clean Air Planning Act,” also calls for cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which are largely responsible for global warming. Administration officials acknowledged that Carper’s plan would achieve reductions in emissions earlier and by larger amounts than Clear Skies. EPA, however, withheld an internal analysis showing that the Carper alternative would raise electricity prices just two-tenths of a cent per kilowatt more than the Clear Skies plan. Leaked copies of these findings, prepared last fall for EPA Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Holmstead, found their way to environmentalists, the press, and others, generating criticism of the agency. Shortly thereafter, on July 1, EPA released a new, more favorable estimate of health and environmental benefits to be achieved by the Clear Skies Initiative, updating calculations performed in 2002. The agency claimed the revised figures were needed to take into account new air quality data, census information, and modeling techniques. The new analysis shows increased benefits and decreased costs, bringing the Clear Skies figures closer in line with those attached to Carper’s bill. Holmstead acknowledged that the new analytical model would show comparable benefit and cost changes for the Carper plan. He claimed the formula was applied to the president’s plan and not to Carper’s because the administration believes Clear Skies to be “far superior from a public policy perspective,” according to the Washington Post. Sen. Carper has requested a new analysis of his bill using EPA’s updated data. Meanwhile, electric power utilities have begun mobilizing support for the polluter-friendly Clear Skies plan. Edison Electric Institute, in particular, recently established a web site and sent an e-mail to power company officials in support of the administration’s air pollution plan, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce convened a hearing on the Clear Skies Initiative July 8, but members indicate that there are number of issues needing to be addressed before the group can act on the bill.