More than two dozen U.S. Congressmen, including Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), presented legislation last week to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to drastically cut carbon emissions, a move some lawmakers say will increase energy costs for Americans.
Under the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan, carbon emissions would be cut by 32 percent by 2030 using state-by-state goals affecting new and existing power plants.
Ratcliffe led fellow members of the House in introducing two resolutions in response to what they see as the Obama administration’s attack on affordable energy and a radical environmental agenda.
“I said it when the administration announced its plan, and I’ll say it again: these rules will have a devastating impact on energy prices and the security of our power grid across the country,” Ratcliffe said. “And Texans will feel the pain sharper than most, since our great state will be one of the hardest hit by these indiscriminate rules. In fact, the administration has targeted Texas with nonsensical requirements that are 20 percent stricter than their target national average.”
Texas produces more carbon emissions than any other state and analysts predict that it will be hardest hit to meet the goals laid out under the Clean Power Plan. It will have to cut an annual average of 51 million tons of carbon to reach the plan’s target, a reduction of about 21 percent from 2012 emissions, the EPA said.
“Families are flocking to Texas because of our conservative, pro-growth policies,” Ratcliffe said. “Texas has created more jobs since 2008 than all other states combined. It’s beyond me why President Obama would want to obstruct our success with regulations created out of thin air by unelected bureaucrats based on a radical political agenda.”
House Resolutions 67 and 68 to disapprove the Clean Power Plan were both sent to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce last week for review. If enacted, the resolutions would prevent the EPA rules from ever being activated and would bar the administration from ever submitting a similar rule in the future.
“I urge leaders in the House and Senate to quickly take up these measures for consideration,” Ratcliffe concluded. “The job security and energy security of hard-working Americans depends on our swift action to combat these harmful regulations.”