Cuccinelli hints at more suits against government

By Laurence Hammack

ROCKY MOUNT

Virginia's attorney general, already at legal war with the federal government on two fronts, said Thursday that more offensives are possible.

"Unfortunately, we have a federal government that's giving us more opportunities than I wish they would," Ken Cuccinelli - who's in battles over climate change and health care- told an overflow crowd of more than 200 at a town hall meeting.

Although most in the crowd appeared supportive of Cuccinelli, his comment came in response to one of the dissenting voices, a citizen who wanted to know how much the attorney general's clashes are costing taxpayers.

Since he took office in January, Cuccinelli has brought three legal actions that touch on hot-button initiatives of the Obama administration.

He has asked a federal judge in Richmond to rule that the health care bill does not apply to Virginians, challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's finding that greenhouse gases endanger the public and filed a subpoena for records from a former University of Virginia scientist whose research supports the theory of global warming.

Cuccinelli made no apologies Thursday for following up on his campaign promises. "I said I was going to do exactly what I've done," he said. "I know that surprises some people, but we said that if the federal government crosses certain lines, we will challenge them."

Cuccinelli did not elaborate on what federal initiative he might take on next. But, he hinted, "If EPA keeps going they way they are, there are going to be more cases."

In July, the EPA denied administrative petitions from Virginia and 15 other states that asked the agency to rethink its position that greenhouse gases threaten human health and should be more tightly regulated. The next step is litigation in a federal appeals court.

In the other two cases, Cuccinelli has a mixed record so far. Last month, a federal judge denied a request by the U.S. Justice Department to dismiss the health care lawsuit, keeping alive the question of whether federal legislation can force Virginians to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty to the government.

More recently, an Albe marle County judge ruled that Cuccinelli had no sufficient reason to demand a wide range of records from former U.Va. climate scientist Michael Mann.

As for how much it cost to bring the cases, Cuccinelli said the work has been done by just a handful of lawyers in his office, none devoted full time to the matters. With the health care lawsuit, "it cost $350 (in court fees) to file the case, and we haven't spent another penny," he said.

Cuccinelli didn't break down the hourly labor costs of staff members, already on the state payroll, to handle the cases. "He never answered my question," said John Hollandsworth, one of the skeptics to speak up during the town hall meeting.

At the Rocky Mount meeting and at an earlier one Thursday in Abingdon, Cuccinelli gave a detailed presentation on recent electricity rate increases by Appalachian Power Company, which he said his office worked to keep lower than what the utility had requested of the State Corporation Commission.

He also warned that a proposed climate bill in Congress, which includes a cap-and-trade program to limit carbon emissions from utilities and industries, could push electricity rates even higher. The measure passed the House last year but appears to have stalled in the Senate. Cuccinelli's office said it could come up in a "lame duck session" after the November elections - assuming that Republicans regain control of the Senate.