WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today went to bat for Montana coal jobs by formally introducing measures to block implementation of new rules on coal-fired power plants and calling the Obama administration’s myriad of anti-coal regulations a direct attack on Montana energy.
This afternoon, Daines and 48 other Senators introduced two bipartisan resolutions disapproving of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan regulations on new and existing power sources. The Congressional Review Act resolutions of disapproval will block the Obama administration’s regulations on new and existing coal-fired power plants.
Daines joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues including, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jim Inhofe (R-OK) Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) to introduce the resolutions on the Senate floor.
Click here to watch Daines’ remarks.
Click here to download Daines’ remarks.
“The so-called Clean Power Plan is part of an all-fronts assault on affordable energy, good-paying union and tribal jobs. Global demand for coal-fired energy will not disappear even if the United States were to shut down every last coal mine and coal-fired power plant,” Daines stated. “It is short-sighted and misguided to move forward an agenda that will devastate significant parts of our economy, raise energy prices and destroy union and tribal jobs. Ironically, some of the first impacted by the Obama administration’s new regulations are those who least can afford it.”
Daines also raised concerns about the Department of Interior’s proposed “Stream Protection Rule” and its potential impact on Montana coal mining. During an Energy and Natural Resources hearing earlier this morning, Daines warned about the unintended consequences this rule may have on hardworking Montanans.
Click here to watch Daines’ remarks.
Click here to download Daines’ remarks.
Daines has long fought to protect Montana jobs and access to low-cost energy from the Obama administration’s overreach. Daines is an original cosponsor of the Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act (ARENA), which holds the EPA accountable and protects states’ rights by requiring the EPA to demonstrate how their proposed regulations could impact each state.
In April, Daines took EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to task for pushing forward new EPA carbon regulations without fully consulting affected states and tribes or addressing the plan’s detrimental impacts on coal production and jobs in Montana.
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