WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today joined President Donald Trump at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C. for the signing of the president’s Energy Independence Executive Order, which effectively kills President Obama’s harmful Clean Power Plan. Senator Capito issued the following statement applauding the Executive Order:

“Today, President Trump kept his promise to roll back one of the most harmful acts of overreach by the Obama administration – the so-called Clean Power Plan. If fully implemented, the Clean Power Plan would have completely decimated West Virginia’s vital coal industry while having no meaningful climate impact. Stopping this disastrous plan will preserve America’s coal industry, expand our manufacturing renaissance that is reliant upon affordable energy, and protect American families from unprecedented hikes in their electric bills. I was honored to join the president for the signing of this Executive Order, and I look forward to continuing working with the Trump administration to advance environmentally responsible policies that grow the economy – not kill jobs.”

In the 114th Congress, Senator Capito led the effort in the Senate to overturn Clean Power Plan regulations for existing power sources. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a resolution that addressed regulations for new coal-fired power sources. Both measures passed the Senate and were vetoed by President Obama.

The Energy Independence Executive Order builds upon a growing list of actions by President Trump and congressional Republicans to block misguided pieces of President Obama’s regulatory agenda.

The United States Senate has passed 10 resolutions of disapproval this year overturning Obama-era rulemakings. Senator Capito was at the White House last month when the president signed into law a Congressional Review Act resolution that she helped introduce in the Senate, which overturned President Obama’s final anti-coal regulation known as the Stream Protection Rule.

President Trump also signed an executive order that began the process of reversing President Obama’s misguided waters of the United States rule. 

###