WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito is leading 43 other Senators in introducing a formal challenge to the Biden administration’s regulations intended to shut down American power plants through a Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval.
The resolution, issued June 5, comes after the Environmental Protection Agency issued its final rules that impose what the Senators call unrealistic emissions requirements on existing coal-fired power plants and newly constructed gas-fired power plants.
They say this attempt to force the closure of power plants that supply America’s baseload electricity was previously tried under President Obama and overturned by the Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA.
Capito (left), Manchin
| File photos
Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) is one of the cosponsors of the measure.
“With this Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, every member of Congress will have the opportunity to protect America’s energy future, heed the warnings of our nation’s electric grid operators, and adhere to the precedent set by the Supreme Court,” Capito, ranking member of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, said in a press release. “This vote is an important one because the Biden administration’s Clean Power Plan 2.0 makes it clear it will stand with climate activists, regardless of the harm that is sure to be done to families, workers, and communities across West Virginia and the rest of the country.
“I appreciate so many of my Senate and House colleagues for joining this bipartisan effort to reject another unrealistic, overreaching regulation, and I look forward to the vote.”
Manchin is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
“This new power plant rule isn’t just another bureaucratic maneuver in this administration’s strategy to end the fossil fuel industry by a thousand cuts, it’s a calculated knockout punch to the coal and natural gas industry,” Manchin said. “Make no mistake, other sources of energy are not yet ready to pick up the slack in our power system that will be created by this regulation.
“In their desperation for short-term political gains before an election, this administration’s radical climate advisors have forsaken the long-term reliability of our electric grid and the energy security of our nation. I’ve always said that the way to address climate change is through innovation, not elimination. But requiring technologies that aren’t yet feasible simply isn’t reasonable.
“I support this resolution to reverse the rule because we cannot afford to continue down this path of prematurely forcing the closure of our dispatchable, baseload power resources, yielding to the pressures of activists and turning a blind eye to the clear warnings of our electricity reliability regulators.”
Capito introduced the resolution in the Senate, while U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) simultaneously led 138 of his colleagues in introducing an identical resolution in the House.
“The Clean Power Plan 2.0 was created by and for extreme activists, ignoring the real-world harm it will cause to our electric grid and American energy security,” Balderson said. “Slashing our baseload energy production while power demand continues to climb at historic levels is dangerous and will have a catastrophic impact for Ohioans.
“This Congressional Review Act resolution allows Congress to step in and block the Biden administration’s efforts to eliminate our reliable power generation by 2032.”
In addition to Manchin, Capito’s Senate resolution is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
Capito’s office said groups supporting the resolution of disapproval include National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Mining Association (NMA), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), America’s Power, American Chemistry Council (ACC), Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA), American Petroleum Institute (API), American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), Western Energy Alliance, American Coal Council, Energy Policy Network, Reliable Energy Inc., Women’s Mining Coalition, West Virginia Manufacturers Association, Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia (GOWV), West Virginia Coal Association, Public Service Commission of West Virginia, Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives, Ohio Independent Power Producers, Ohio Oil & Gas Association, Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, Montana Coal Council, Texas Mining Association, Utah Mining Association, Kentucky Coal Association, Illinois Coal Association, Wyoming Mining Association, Rocky Mountain Mining Institute, American Electric Power (AEP), Buckeye Power, Duke Energy, PBF Energy, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), Institute for Energy Research, Power the Future, Heritage Action, Conservative Political Action Coalition, Americans for Prosperity, American Energy Institute, American Consumer Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, ALEC Action, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
