WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today on the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay of President Obama’s so-called “Clean” Power Plan:

“A few years ago the Obama Administration rolled out a massive regulatory scheme they dubbed a ‘Clean’ Power Plan—an odd choice, given that it wouldn’t have a meaningful impact on global emissions or the health of our planet.

“Here’s what those massive regulations likely would do though.

“Ship Middle-Class jobs overseas.

“Punish the poor.

“Impose more pain on Kentucky coal families who just want to put food on the table.

“All for the sake, one must assume, of letting well-off folks on the Left feel better about themselves for ‘doing something.’

“It’s pretty clear that the Administration’s energy regulations threaten a lot of Middle-Class pain for hardly any substantive environmental gain.

“There’s another huge problem too.

“These regulations are, in my view, likely illegal.

“Yesterday’s Supreme Court order is just the latest sign of that.

“If nothing else, it shows we were right to let governors know their options.

“We thought governors should know that they could take a ‘wait-and-see’ approach before locking their states into some massive regulatory scheme.

“We thought governors should know the economic jeopardy they could place their states in by moving ahead without a clearer understanding first of what might be legally required.

“We thought governors should not feel bullied by the heavy hand of this Administration.

“That cautious approach was the most responsible one in my view. Yesterday’s decision shows it was a prudent one too.

“We’ll see what the Supreme Court ultimately decides.

“But we’re going to keep fighting against these regressive regulations regardless.

“It’s worth remembering how we got here in the first place.

“President Obama tried to push a regressive, anti-Middle Class energy tax through a Democrat-controlled Congress, and his own party said no. He simply went around Congress to impose a similarly regressive plan anyway.

“Kentuckians in the eastern part of my state are experiencing a depression, a depression that policies like these are only making worse.

“I’ve repeatedly invited Gina McCarthy and the President to my home state to see the devastation firsthand. They have yet to accept.

“But even if they won’t come to us, we’ve brought the concerns of Kentuckians directly to them.

“We brought constituents, for instance, to Administration hearings in D.C. to try to make Washington to listen.

“I put myself on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior so that I could have a stronger influence in the oversight of the EPA budget. It’s given me the opportunity to shed light on the struggles of my home state and question officials like Gina McCarthy. It’s given me the chance to push for policy riders in legislation that would undermine or overturn these regulations in their entirety.

“I’ve repeatedly done so and will continue to do so.

“I’ve also worked successfully with members in both parties to pass measures through Congress that would also overturn these anti-Middle Class regulations in their entirety.

“President Obama pulled out all the stops to defeat previous attempts to pass riders. He vetoed the bipartisan measures we passed through Congress. But he can’t stop the Supreme Court from making the right decision, as we hope it ultimately will. He also can’t stop the American people from electing a successor who’s ready to support the Middle Class.

“Here’s the bottom line.

“I think we owe it to the people under attack to represent them and stand up on their behalf.

“The Americans that these regulations attack have committed no crime.

“They’ve done nothing wrong.

“They’re human beings with families.

“It’s about time we had an Administration who treated them that way.

“Until then, we’ll keep fighting. And we’ll celebrate important progress along the way, just as we did with yesterday’s Supreme Court action.”