McCarthy Nomination

Floor Speech

Mr HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss my vote in opposition to the President's nomination of Gina McCarthy as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. I praise Ms. McCarthy for her extensive experience and expertise in regulating air quality at the Federal level as well as at the State level. Throughout her career she has been able to be an effective regulator under Republican Governors as well as a Democratic President. Even with the opposition she faced during the months leading up to her confirmation, it was always clear to me that Ms. McCarthy would be approved.

My ``nay'' vote was not against Ms. McCarthy. My vote was against President Obama's overreaching environmental policies and against the EPA. The environmental policies of this administration are clearly a war on fossil fuel and a war on Western jobs.

The President's recent announcement of a Climate Change Action Plan will be implemented by EPA and will have a direct impact on jobs and the pocketbooks of the American people. This plan targets coal-fired powerplants by proposing Federal carbon emission standards that will cost billions of dollars nationwide to implement and will raise the price of electricity for private citizens as well as businesses.

The Western United States is rich in coal, oil, and natural gas. We need to make it easier, not harder, to develop those resources. The development of the abundant and affordable energy that we are blessed with as a nation is crucial.

The effort by this administration to quell the development of these resources is unacceptable. I cannot support them and, that being the case, I am not able to support the nomination of Ms. McCarthy.

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