Contact:

Matt Dempsey Matt_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-9797

Katie Brown Katie_Brown@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-2160                

Bipartisan Group of Governors Challenge Most Expensive EPA Rule in History while Senate Democrats Protect the President

Washington, D.C. - At today's Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works subcommittee hearing, "Review of Mercury Pollution's Impacts to Public Health and Environment," Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Committee, was pleased to announce that a bipartisan group of twenty four state attorneys general, including a quarter of all Democrat state attorneys general, filed petitions challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Utility MACT rule.  Senator Inhofe has filed a CRA to stop EPA from going through with this rule.   

"I was pleased to hear that a bipartisan group of attorneys general in twenty four states have filed petitions challenging EPA's Utility MACT rule - this just goes to show that Democrat Governors are standing up for their constituents while Senate Democrats continue to back the President, even though his EPA's air rules are specifically designed to kill coal in American electricity generation, destroy up to 1.4 million jobs, and cause electricity rates to 'necessarily skyrocket,'" Senator Inhofe said. "I applaud Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt for standing up for Oklahomans as well as the attorneys general in states with Democrat Governors including Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia.  These Governors clearly understand that families in their states will be forced to pay the high costs of the Utility MACT rule, and suffer the consequences of regulations that have a cost/benefit ratio of 1,600 to 1.  They know that power plants in their states will shut down and the loss of tax revenue will hurt schoolchildren's education and reduce emergency services in their communities.   

"While Democrat Governors act, Senate Democrats have been out of touch: they continue to say EPA needs to be reined in, yet when the moment comes, they conveniently hide behind 'cover votes' which make them appear to be doing something, while protecting the President and his job-killing agenda. But there is a solution: I have introduced a CRA that would send EPA back to the drawing board to craft a rule under Congressional direction - hopefully one in which utilities can actually comply.  With my CRA, Senate Democrats can have one more chance to decide if they will stand with their Governors and constituents, or their President, whose agenda will hurt them all.  I hope they make the right choice."

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