WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following comments today regarding oral arguments in the State of West Virginia, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) et al before The United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit:
“Today’s hearing is an important step in determining the merits of President Obama’s so-called Clean Power Plan, which is yet another example of executive overreach patterned after this Administration’s political and ideological agenda rather than scientific evidence.
“Earlier this year, the Supreme Court made the unprecedented move to place a hold on the plan until the federal courts review it. As I have long said, this massive regulatory overreach would strike at the most vulnerable. It would cause energy bills to skyrocket – increasing the cost of electricity by double digits in Kentucky. It would ship Middle-Class jobs overseas. It would bring further harm to families like those in Kentucky who’ve been devastated by this Administration’s anti-coal policies. And it would do little to nothing to actually achieve its intended purpose — reducing global emissions.
“I’ve always believed the Administration overstepped its authority by essentially legislating through regulation and that such a plan would likely fail to survive legal scrutiny, which is why I advised states to carefully consider the significant economic and legal ramifications at stake before signing on to the plan.
“Today’s hearing was the first step in determining whether this misguided plan will survive legal challenges, and for the sake of Kentucky coal miners and their families, I hope it does not.”
BACKGROUND: In February 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joined Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and 32 other Senators and more than 170 Representatives in filing an amicus brief to push back on the president’s power grab. House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (KY-01), and Representatives Hal Rogers (KY-05), Andy Barr (KY-06), Brett Guthrie (KY-02), and Thomas Massie (KY-04) joined McConnell on the brief.
Last year, Senator McConnell also wrote a letter encouraging the governors of all 50 states to take advantage of this much-needed reprieve and to adopt a “wait-and-see approach” before complying with the plan’s standards.
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