Shelley Moore Capito - Ranking member of the Environment and Public Works committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
Shelley Moore Capito - Ranking member of the Environment and Public Works committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced a resolution today challenging the Biden administration’s regulations aimed at closing American power plants. This action, supported by 43 Senate colleagues, employs a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval.
The resolution targets recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that impose stringent emissions requirements on existing coal-fired and newly constructed gas-fired power plants. These regulations are seen as an effort to close power plants supplying America’s baseload electricity—a move previously attempted under President Obama and overturned by the Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA.
“With this Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, every member of Congress will have the opportunity to protect America’s energy future, heed the warnings of our nation’s electric grid operators, and adhere to the precedent set by the Supreme Court,” said Ranking Member Capito. “This vote is an important one because the Biden administration’s Clean Power Plan 2.0 makes it clear it will stand with climate activists, regardless of the harm that is sure to be done to families, workers, and communities across West Virginia and the rest of the country.”
Simultaneously in the House, U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio-12) led 138 colleagues in introducing an identical resolution.
“The Clean Power Plan 2.0 was created by and for extreme activists, ignoring the real-world harm it will cause to our electric grid and American energy security,” stated Rep. Balderson.
The Senate resolution is co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) along with numerous other senators including Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and John Thune (R-S.D.).
Supporting groups for this CRA resolution include: National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Mining Association (NMA), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), America’s Power, American Chemistry Council (ACC), Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA), among others.
Ranking Member Capito has a history of opposing similar EPA initiatives dating back to efforts against President Obama’s original Clean Power Plan in 2015.
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