Climate Change 2015: House Votes To Block Clean Power Plan As Obama Returns From Paris Summit

U.S. lawmakers moved to block President Barack Obama's plans to cut power plant regulations with the House by passing two resolutions on Tuesday that disapprove of his Clean Power Plan. The resolutions will now be sent to the White House, where they are expected to be vetoed.

Tuesday's resolutions were approved largely along party lines, reported POLITICO. House representatives voted 242-180 to approve a measure that would block Obama's policies for existing power plants, lawmakers voted 235-188 against the carbon-reducing policies for new or modified coal-fired power plants.

The vote comes as Obama returns on Tuesday evening from a climate change summit in Paris, where world leaders discussed measures to reduce the world's carbon footprint.

"[Republicans want to] send a message to the climate conference in Paris that in America, there's serious disagreement with the policies of this president," Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., told the Associated Press.

Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., who voted in favor of the bills, called Obama's policies Tuesday a "war on coal" in a tweet.

When the Senate voted last month to pass the two resolutions, the White House lamented the decision and vowed to veto the bills.

"The need to act and to act quickly, to mitigate climate change impacts on American communities has never been more clear," the White House said in a statement.