Senators Isakson, Perdue Call on President to Withdraw EPA’s Harmful Overreach
WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 1, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and David Perdue (R-GA) today called on President Obama to withdraw the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) massive rule to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.
In a letter to President Obama signed by Isakson and Perdue, the senators raised serious concerns over the administration’s proposed Clean Power Plan – an onerous regulation that would require Georgia’s energy providers to fundamentally restructure its generation of electricity, unnecessarily driving up electrical bills for Georgia families.
“For many years the EPA has been out of touch, but since the Obama administration took over, the new controls sought by this agency seem to have no limit,” said Senator Isakson. “I have fought the EPA since the rule was first proposed and I will continue to fight this and any rule that would be result in significant electricity rate increases and additional energy costs for Georgians.”
“By imposing substantial costs on Georgia consumers and businesses, and placing the supply of affordable and reliable electricity at grave risk, our state will endure economic hardship and our citizens will pay the price,” said Senator Perdue. “The consequences of the EPA’s plan for Georgia and our constitutions will be disastrous, and I strongly urge the Obama administration to stop this energy overreach.”
Click here to read the full letter.
Background:
In June of 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule requiring states to severely restrict carbon emissions from existing power plants. It would radically curtail coal’s share of electricity generation. The rule, which is expected to be finalized this summer, claims to offer states “flexibility” to choose for themselves which carbon-reduction measures to implement. Instead, it enables the Obama administration to shift the burden of implementation to states.
While the rule allows states to submit plans to the EPA detailing what energy choices they will make to comply with carbon emissions caps, if a state does not submit a plan that meets the Obama administration’s approval, the EPA will impose a federal implementation plan that makes energy choices for that state. A majority of states, including Georgia, have already submitted comments in opposition to the rule.
A study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that a plan of this type would increase America’s electricity bills, decrease a family’s disposable income and result in job losses.
