WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressional Western Caucus members released the following statements on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) finalized greenhouse gas emissions rule, Clean Power Plan 2.0, that will force coal-fired power plants to shutter and makes it more difficult to build new natural gas plants. The Clean Power Plan 2.0 rule was finalized as part of a suite of regulations that will threaten the reliability of America’s power grid, kill jobs in rural communities, and raise energy prices for consumers, families, and businesses.
“Biden’s regulatory assault on traditional energy sources continued today, much to the detriment of rural America,” said Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04). “This misguided rule will eliminate jobs and raise energy prices across the West, while raising the risk of blackouts in rural communities. Once again, the Biden Administration has pandered to extreme climate activists by pushing their agenda and the Congressional Western Caucus strongly supports any effort to overturn this rule.”
“The EPA’s rush to dismantle our nation’s baseload electricity generation will harm people’s lives and well-being,”
said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chairman Buddy Carter (GA-01). “These policies undermine American energy security by forcing states to fundamentally change how they generate electricity. At a time when more than half the nation is at elevated risk of forced blackouts, the administration’s unrelenting rush-to-green agenda is shutting down the types of generation needed to keep the lights on and raising costs across the board. We should be strengthening and expanding reliable power generation to build on America’s legacy of energy security and leadership, rather than dismantling it.”
