More than 200 lawmakers Tuesday filed a brief with a federal appeals court asking it to block the Clean Power Plan.
Thirty-four senators and 171 representatives signed on to an amicus brief filed with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the 29 states and numerous interest groups that are trying to block the Clean Power Plan, President Obama’s signature environmental regulation. While the lawmakers represent both parties, most are Republicans.
Led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the group of lawmakers told the court that the Clean Power Plan goes beyond its legal authority.
“If Congress desired to give EPA sweeping authority to transform the nation’s electricity sector, Congress would have provided for that unprecedented power in detailed legislation,” the brief states. “Indeed, when an agency seeks to make ‘decisions of vast economic and political significance’ under a ‘long-extant statute,’ it must point to a ‘clear’ statement from Congress.”
The Clean Power Plan is the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation limiting carbon emissions from power plants. It seeks to cut carbon emissions by more than 30 percent by 2030. Under the plan, each state would be required to come up with its own system to meet a carbon emission reduction goal for each state.
However, many lawmakers and industry groups argue that it places undue restrictions on utilities and is part of the Obama administration’s long-term goal of killing coal power in the United States. Congress passed a resolution that would have blocked the regulation last year, but Obama vetoed it.
The Supreme Court has blocked the regulation while the legal challenge is heard. Some states have decided to stop working on their plans to meet the EPA’s carbon reduction goal while the challenge is being heard, but many are moving ahead.
The brief says Congress hasn’t authorized the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. The EPA has contended in the past that the Supreme Court directed the agency to regulate greenhouse gases in a previous decision under the Clean Air Act.
“Because of the final rule, states will face unprecedented new regulatory burdens, electricity ratepayers will be subject to billions of dollars in compliance costs, and American workers and their families will experience the hardship of job losses due to power plant shutdowns, higher electricity prices and overall diminishment of the nation’s global economic competitiveness,” the brief states. “Choices of this nature are inherently congressional decisions.”
The court of appeals is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case June 2.
