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Today, Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) joined 34 Senators and 171 total House Members in filling an amicus brief in the case of State of West Virginia, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al. supporting petitions filed by 27 states, including Arizona, seeking to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Clean Power Plan.” The full text of the amicus brief can be found HERE.
On February 9, 2016, the Supreme Court blocked President Obama’s Clean Power Plan until the case can be heard by U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Following the submission of the amicus brief, Congressman Gosar stated, “It is incomprehensible that this president has not learned by now that he cannot force his radical, unconstitutional environmental agenda onto the American people. Congress, not EPA bureaucrats at the behest of the president, should dictate our country’s environmental policies. I am proud to stand with my fellow members of Congress and the 27 states fighting to protect good-paying jobs from misguided regulations that will have negligible effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Federal judges have already slapped down numerous new environmental mandates unilaterally imposed by this out-of-control administration. The fundamentally-flawed Clean Power Plan should receive the same treatment.”
From the House Republican Conference: “The primary argument of the brief involves an Article I v. Article II controversy regarding the discretion of the executive branch to make rules without authority. The national implications of the rule are very significant, as it would fundamentally alter the generation, transmission and consumption of electricity and compel states to adopt a wide range of measures that may include state legislation, emissions trading programs and renewable electricity mandates, all to the detriment of American consumers. If Congress intended for the EPA to regulate these things, it would have said so.”
Background
American families are projected to lose almost $600 billion in disposable income as a result of EPA’s Clean Power Plan. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy, all of this economic harm and destruction for our economies will only result in a 1.8% reduction of global carbon-dioxide emissions by the year 2030.
On June 24, 2015, the House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act. Congressman Gosar is a cosponsor of this legislation which prevents states from being forced to comply with EPA’s Clean Power Plan and requires a comprehensive judicial review.
Congressman Gosar also offered an amendment to H.R. 2042 which required formal withdrawal of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan proposed rule published on June 18, 2014 and the supplemental proposed rule published on November 4, 2014. The amendment also required the EPA to consult with local governments and small businesses to commission a report on ways to further the goals of the Clean Air Act without new regulations and required legislation to be passed by Congress before any new regulations for power plants can be implemented.
In December, the House successfully passed S.J.Res.23 and S.J.Res.24 with Congressman Gosar’s support which would have triggered the Congressional Review Act to effectively block the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Unfortunately, President Obama used a pocket veto days before Christmas in order to veto these critical pieces of legislation.
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