The leaders of five environmental groups scolded 10 Republican lawmakers who signed onto a resolution promising to act on climate change and then voted to block President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.
The letter to Republican Reps. Ryan Costello, Carlos Curbelo, Michael Fitzpatrick, Chris Gibson, Frank LoBiondo, Patrick Meehan, Tom Reed, Dave Reichert, Illeana Ros-Lehtinen and Elise Stefanik chastises their votes on a Senate resolution to block to Clean Power Plan, which passed the House on Tuesday.
The 10 lawmakers were sponsors on a resolution that stated climate change is real, mankind plays a role in it and effective action needed to be taken against it. The letter accuses them of breaking their vow to take action against climate change by voting to block the Clean Power Plan.
“We cannot understand why you would then vote to block these standards limiting dangerous carbon pollution from existing power plants, our country’s single largest source of pollution fueling climate change,” the letter says.
The leaders of the League of Conservation Voters, Environment America, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Action Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council signed the letter.
The resolution to block the Clean Power Plan, as well as a resolution to block rules limiting carbon emissions from new power plants, is going to Obama’s desk, where he plans to veto them. The mostly symbolic measures do not have veto-proof majorities in either chamber.
The Clean Power Plan, seen as Obama’s signature environmental regulation, is the centerpiece of the administration’s commitments to the 21st Conference of Parties, or COP21, being held in Paris during the next two weeks. The regulation sets goals for emissions cuts for each state.
House Republicans characterized the Tuesday vote as a message to the Paris climate talks that Congress does not support Obama’s plans to fight climate change. The environmental groups were disappointed the 10 Republicans did not send a message to the world that they would support the Clean Power Plan.
“It is especially troubling that you voted to repeal America’s main action to address climate change as world leaders gather in Paris to craft a historic climate agreement that for the first time will have all nations doing their fair share to tackle this global challenge,” the letter says.
