WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its regulations designed to force the closure of American power plants today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, released the following statement, which includes her intention to introduce a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to overturn the emissions rules targeting existing coal plants and new gas plants.

“With the latest iteration of the illegal Clean Power Plan 2.0 announced today, President Biden has inexplicably doubled down on his plans to shut down the backbone of America’s electric grid through unachievable regulatory mandates. Electricity demand is set to skyrocket thanks in part to the EPA’s own electric vehicles mandate, and unfortunately, Americans are already paying higher utility bills under President Biden. Despite all this, the administration has chosen to press ahead with its unrealistic climate agenda that threatens access to affordable, reliable energy for households and employers across the country.

“To protect millions of Americans, including energy workers, against executive overreach that has already been tried and rejected by the Supreme Court, I will be introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to overturn the EPA’s job-killing regulations announced today.”

Today’s EPA rules impose a one-two punch of burdensome emissions requirements on existing coal-fired power plants and newly constructed gas-fired power plants. EPA Administrator Michael Regan has already announced plans to issue additional regulations covering existing natural gas power plants after November.

During the Obama administration, the EPA attempted to impose a similar slate of rules and regulations aimed at shutting down baseload power plants, which the Supreme Court later overturned in West Virginia v. EPA.

CAPITO’S CONSISTENT OPPOSITION TO EPA’S CLEAN POWER PLAN 2.O:

In December 2023, Ranking Member Capito and U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan to again outline significant concerns with the administration’s proposed Clean Power Plan 2.0.

Two days later, Capito and Barrasso sent a letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) urging the commissioners to work with the EPA to improve the agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan 2.0 and fix the associated threats to electric reliability the plan presents, brought to light during a FERC technical conference on the Clean Power Plan 2.0 held in November 2023. Ranking Members Capito and Barrasso also sent two other letters to FERC on this topic in June 2023 (requesting the technical conference) and November 2023 (recommending areas of focus for the conference).

In August 2023, Ranking Member Capito led 38 other Republican senators, including Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), in filing comments on the proposed Clean Power Plan 2.0, calling on the EPA to withdraw its plans to force the closure of coal and gas-fired power plants.

In June 2023, Ranking Member Capito and U.S. Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.-01) introduced the Protect Our Power Plants (POPP) Act, legislation to prevent the EPA from implementing the Clean Power Plan 2.0.

In May 2023, Ranking Member Capito announced plans to lead efforts through the CRA to overturn the regulations once they were finalized and published by the EPA.

In 2015, Senators Capito and McConnell successfully challenged then-President Obama’s original Clean Power Plan, which the Supreme Court later overturned, with CRA resolutions of disapproval on the administration’s rules targeting both existing and new power plants. The Senate approved both resolutions: S.J. Res 24 introduced by Capito, and S.J. Res 23 introduced McConnell. The resolutions were vetoed by President Obama.

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