Whitfield’s electricity resolutions to be marked up on Tuesday

The House Subcommittee on Energy and Power will markup two of Chairman Ed Whitfield’s (R-KY) resolutions aimed at protecting affordable and reliable electricity on Tuesday. 

House Joint Resolutions 71 and 72 were introduced last week under the Congressional Review Act disapproving of two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new and existing fossil-fuel fired power plants. The rules include the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and a rule for CO2 emissions for new power plants. 

Whitfield’s resolutions aim to protect grid reliability and ratepayers nationwide from higher electricity prices, and protect states and their citizens from having to implement a highly complex, intrusive and unworkable regulatory cap and trade scheme.

“The EPA has become a rogue political arm of the White House,” Whitfield said. “Their broad assertion of regulatory authority in these rules goes far beyond what is authorized by the Clean Air Act. These resolutions serve to halt EPA’s unauthorized actions and ultimately are about protecting ratepayers across the country from increased electricity prices, reliability threats, and jobs. Next week we will take an important step to keep the lights on for folks in Kentucky and throughout the country.”