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[Page S3808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Clean Power Plan
Madam President, on another matter, the previous administration left
a sprawling mess of regulation tangled throughout the Federal
Government and the U.S. economy.
Sweeping leftwing visions were dreamt up here in Washington and
forced on farm families, domestic manufacturers, and small businesses
throughout the country with there being very little regard for the
consequences. The reach of regulators grew longer and longer, and the
burden on American prosperity became heavier and heavier. So,
naturally, rolling back much of this mess and putting Washington back
in its place has been a major priority for the Republicans in Congress
as well as for the Trump administration.
Yet some actions were so egregious and so likely illegal that the
courts put a halt to them before we could even reform or repeal them.
As my colleagues recall, the implementation of the so-called Clean
Power Plan was frozen by a Supreme Court stay more than 3 years ago,
back in 2016.
The Obama administration's War on Coal has already done plenty of
damage in places like my home State of Kentucky, but at least this
additional hammer blow on so many Americans' livelihoods was held off.
It would have weaponized a Federal agency to bury energy producers and
all of those who depend on them under one-size-fits-all regulations
with duplicative mandates and unrealistic timelines. Also, as the
production of the most affordable and reliable energy available to
American families would have dried up, it would have left higher
electricity costs in its wake.
Higher domestic power prices would have meant fewer American jobs
here at home with there having been no meaningful effect on global
emissions. Any rational observer would have concluded that this
regulation would have been all pain for no gain--just good American
jobs having been shipped overseas.
This was a bad idea that many of us here in the Senate fought tooth
and nail. Back in 2013 and 2014, after President Obama's EPA
Administrator refused my request to come meet with Kentuckians, I held
hearings in Kentucky about the negative impacts the plan would have
actually had. I worked with Governors to hold off on its
implementation. I helped to spearhead an amicus brief in the legal
proceedings and led on legislation to overturn the rule.
So unwinding this proposed economic self-sabotage and sticking up for
working families has been a top priority of mine and of many of my
colleagues for years. Fortunately, it has also been a major priority
for the Trump administration. Last year, it announced a proposed rule
to do away with it, and, later today, the EPA will be finalizing it and
making it official. I look forward to the administration's rolling out
a new policy that upholds the rule of law, keeps the EPA within its
statutory role, and encourages American energy reliability and
affordability.
This is just one more win for all Americans who live and work in
communities where affordable, homegrown American energy sources like
coal still matter a great deal. It is another win for States like
Kentucky. It is nice to have an administration that isn't narrowly
focused on just big, blue, urban areas but that looks out for all of
our country.
