House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) introduced on Monday bipartisan legislation that would ensure diverse and affordable electricity for the United States.
“The (Environmental Protection Agency’s) extreme regulations are threatening our nation’s energy future, or economy, and countless American jobs,” Whitfield said. “These regulations are being done by a group of regulators without any public discussion or debate, and the purpose of this legislation is to ensure that we have a national discussion about the use of coal.”
The proposed legislation would provide direction to the EPA in the development of the agency’s new rules for power plants and maintain an “all of the above” energy strategy.
The bill would require that greenhouse gas standards set by the EPA for new coal-fired plants are able to be achieved by commercial power plants, including highly efficient plants that use modern, state-of-the-art emission control technology.
The EPA would be required to report their economic consequences and meaningful impact on global greenhouse gas emissions to Congress. The bill would also repeal previous greenhouse gas power plant rules proposed by the EPA.
“This bipartisan, bicameral solution will prevent unworkable regulations that threaten to limit America’s power portfolio and make energy more expensive,” Whitfield said. “A true ‘all of the above’ strategy is critical to maintaining access for American consumers and households to affordable and reliable electricity and ensuring American companies can compete globally.”