FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2012, file photo, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks against the expansion of the Clean Water Act to authority over wet areas on private land in a pasture owned

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FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2012, file photo, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks against the expansion of the Clean Water Act to authority over wet areas on private land in a pasture owned by Gary Johnson in Waukomis, Okla. While the looming fiscal cliff dominates political conversation in Washington, some Republicans and business groups see signs of a "regulatory cliff" they say could be just as damaging to the economy. President Barack Obama has spent the past year "punting" on a slew of job-killing regulations that will be unleashed in a second term, said Inhofe. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) less