WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito introduced a bill Wednesday that will serve as the primary legislation in the Senate aiming to rollback President Obama’s “Clean Power Plan.”
A bi-partisan group of six senators, including U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, joined Capito at a press conference Wednesday afternoon to unveil The Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act, also called ARENA. Capito said the legislation would put the economy first and curb federal overreach.
“Our bi-partisan legislation would empower the states to protect families and businesses from electricity rate increases, reduced electrical reliability and other harmful effects of the president’s Clean Power Plan,” Capito said.
Capito said that the ‘misguided’ Clean Power Plan threatens the coal industry even further, increases energy costs and reduces reliability. She said the bill would require the EPA to put together specific plans for each state and hold the EPA more accountable.
“The EPA wants states to meet the required greenhouse gas emissions reductions,” she said. “We feel that the EPA itself should put together a model path for each state individually that shows how that state should achieve those objectives.”
She said the bill would prevent the EPA from mandating the use of “unproven technology.” The bill would also prevent the EPA from withholding highway funds from any states for noncompliance with the Clean Power Plan. Manchin said that coal will be used, and the government’s cooperation is needed to make sure it is used cleanly.
“The facts are that coal is going to be used to supply power to the United States for many years,” Manchin said. “If you’re going to use it you should use it as clean as possible, and all we’ve asked for is the federal government to be our partner and work with us.”
