The House passed legislation Wednesday that would delay emission rules that are the centerpiece of President Obama’s plan to combat global warming.
The Ratepayer Protection Act was approved 247-180. It would allow states to opt out of complying with rules to cut carbon dioxide from existing power plants. Many scientists say the emissions are causing manmade climate change. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Sponsors of the bill say the Environmental Protection Agency’s emission rules, known as the Clean Power Plan, would harm consumers by driving up energy costs and creating the potential for rolling blackouts.
Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., the author of the bill, said the Clean Power Plan is an example of regulatory overreach that his colleagues, states and many others believe is illegal. The bill also would allow states to delay compliance until judicial review has concluded.
Whitfield noted that more than a dozen states and the energy industry have sued the EPA over the regulation in federal appeals court, arguing that the agency does not possess the authority to move ahead with the regulations.
The Republican governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, sent a letter to President Obama Wednesday outlining the problems the rules would cause for the Hoosier state. “I believe the Clean Power Plan as proposed is a vast overreach of federal power that exceeds the EPA’s proper legal authority and fails to strike the proper balance between the health of the environment and the health of the economy,” the governor wrote. Pence told the president he reserves the right to use “any legal means available to block the rule from being implemented.”
The regulations require the states to reduce their carbon emissions 30 percent by 2030. The plan is undergoing final review by the White House Office of Management and Budget and is expected to become law sometime in August.
The White House says the president will veto the legislation, arguing that it undermines the EPA’s authority to protect public health by addressing global warming and harm posed by carbon dioxide pollution.
Democrats during the floor debate attempted to hobble the legislation through amendments, but all were voted down. The minority party argued that the measure was a “messaging bill,” saying even if it makes it through the Senate, the president will veto it.
