WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, released the following statement after the White House Office of Management and Budget announced new rules and procedures today that directs federal agencies to consider flawed “social cost of greenhouse gases” (SC-GHG) metrics when purchasing any goods or services, conducting the environmental review process for projects of all kinds, and levying climate penalties against private businesses.

“The Biden administration continues to use unproven figures to attempt to justify its environmental policies that drive up costs for families, hamstring American employers, and delay job-creating infrastructure projects from ever moving forward. Today’s announcement is more of the same devastating, top-down government mandates intended to kill energy jobs and make the United States more reliant on foreign countries. The problem is the math doesn’t add up, and in fact, doesn’t exist. I’ve asked the administration repeatedly for details, proof points, and facts on where its ‘Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases’ numbers come from and how they’re using them, and they’ve chosen to move forward anyway with overreaching, broad directives with no regard for transparency, public input, or impacts on millions of Americans.”

BACKGROUND:

In February 2021, Ranking Member Capito sent a letter to President Biden asking the administration to postpone efforts to set “interim” cost values on the social cost of greenhouse gases. The administration set an “interim” cost anyway.

In June 2021, Ranking Member Capito requested the Working Group extend the public comment period by 45 days, as well as basic information regarding the Working Group’s transparency and plans for public engagement. The Working Group denied the public comment extension and dismissed calls to ensure transparency of the Working Group’s actions and decisions.

In November 2021, Ranking Member Capito led her Republican colleagues in requesting the Working Group provide their recommendations about planned use of the SC-GHG in federal decision making. After not receiving a response to that letter, in May 2022, Ranking Member Capito, along with the Republican leaders of other key committees, wrote another letter to the Biden administration’s “Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases” co-chairs. The letter calls on the Working Group to improve transparency in its activities. The letter also seeks information regarding the Working Group’s role in developing and using the SC-GHG to advance the administration’s environmental agenda. This was Ranking Member Capito’s fourth request to the Biden administration for transparency on SC-GHG.

In March 2022, Ranking Member Capito and House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan requesting transparency and information on EPA’s use of SC-GHG.

In July 2022, Ranking Member Capito and Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced the Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act, a bill to prohibit the federal government from using the flawed social cost of carbon, social cost of methane, social cost of nitrous oxide, or the social cost of any other greenhouse gas metrics in the rulemaking process.

# # #