Republican politician Bob Latta has only been on Capitol Hill for a few days as a new member of Congress, but already he’s fallen in with the wrong crowd, and made a very dirty start to Congress.

Bob Latta has signed on to H.R. 5656, a piece of legislation so dirty that its authors have declined to give it an official name, with the hope that it can slip by unnoticed by the American people.

If passed, H.R. 5656 actually would actually encourage government waste. It would repeal a section of the Energy Independence and Security Act, passed just last year. That section - 526 - forbids the federal government from purchasing fuels that produce more greenhouse gas pollution than conventional petroleum products.

Petroleum fuels are notoriously dirty, so that’s not a very high bar for efficiency. As far as Bob Latta is concerned, however, the bar for government energy efficiency and cleanliness needs to go even lower.

That’s irresponsible, given the huge work that lies before us in reducing America’s carbon emissions. Congressman Bob Latta is working against our national interest, and trying to encourage the government to increase its carbon emissions.

What’s more, Latta is pursuing this policy of waste at the behest of the big fossil fuel corporations, not the people in Ohio who just elected him. That’s a very rude way to start a term in Congress, and ought to serve as a wake up call to the people in the 5th congressional district in Ohio.

Bob Latta is a new Congressman, but he’s already stuck in the past, relying on waste and inefficiency. On Election Day in November, Bob Latta ought not to be given the chance to continue this policy of dirty coal waste.

Learn about the other members of the Dirty Coal Caucus who support this dirty piece of legislation.

P.S.: Check out this widget from Washington Watch - you can vote on whether you approve or disapprove of H.R. 5656. So far, it looks like votes are against.