Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two resolutions disapproving of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rules to regulate carbon dioxide from new and existing power plants. President Obama directed the EPA to issue these rules that would place unreachable new regulatory burdens on the U.S. electricity sector. The rules require new and existing power plants to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent over the next 15 years.
The first, S.J. Res. 23 disapproves of the new plants rule, specifically the new source performance standards as it applies to new electrical plants. S.J. Res. 24 addresses the existing power plants under the Clean Power Plan. In addition to expressing disapproval, the resolutions would halt the implementation of the EPA's rules until they are authorized by legislation put forth by Congress. Georgia has also joined 27 states in challenging the EPA's carbon dioxide rules for power plants in court.
Representative Lynn Westmoreland voted in favor of both resolutions of disapproval and issued the following statement condemning the EPA:
"This is a power grab by the Obama Administration, and they are trying to regulate against the will of the legislators and the American people," stated Westmoreland. "The emissions standards in the Clean Power Plan set an unrealistic goal for many of Georgia's power plants. The impact of the EPA's overreaching government action is higher costs passed on to the consumer, reduced reliability from shutting down coal plants, and the potential loss of 800 jobs in Georgia over the next two years. The consequences far outweigh the benefits, and I will not let the Obama Administration implement regulations at the expense of Georgian's jobs."