Rep. Mike Rogers, AL-03, today called on the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill rolling back regulations that discourage the use of America’s coal reserves.
Rogers said H.R. 3826, the Electricity Security and Affordability Act, would help ensure America can maintain a diverse and affordable electricity portfolio, which includes natural gas, nuclear power, and renewables. But the primary focus of the bill is on the coal industry, which has found itself in the crosshairs of the Obama Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recent years.
Although the president and his allies vehemently denied during the 2012 presidential race any intent to target the coal industry — even to the point of running ads saying Mitt Romney was actually the candidate who would be bad for coal — an Obama Administration official set off a firestorm last year when he said, “Politically, the White House is hesitant to say they’re having a war on coal. On the other hand, a war on coal is exactly what’s needed.” Those comments by White House climate adviser Daniel Schrag preceded the president’s announcement that he would, indeed, use his executive power to unilaterally impose new regulations on coal-fired plants.
At the president’s direction, the EPA has since then written wide-reaching regulations, many unattainable, to dramatically limit the construction of new coal plants. Other regulations set standards that are essentially unachievable for existing coal plants.
The Electricity Security and Affordability Act, which has bipartisan support, would require any greenhouse gas standards set by the EPA for new coal-fired plants to be achievable by commercial power plants currently operating. The legislation also provides that Congress would set the effective date for EPA’s expected regulations for existing plants.
“As the president’s War on Coal continues, we will almost certainly see increased electricity bills,” Rogers said. “At a time when many East Alabama families are spending a higher percentage of their income to heat their homes during this harsh winter, the last thing we need is the Obama Administration enforcing unachievable electricity production rules that ultimately take more money out of the pockets of East Alabama families and discourage the creation and retention of good-paying Alabama jobs.”
The House was expected to vote on the bill Wednesday.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
