“The McConnell-Inhofe amendment will block the EPA’s attempt to enact the same cap and tax bill that has been defeated time and time again on Capitol Hill.”
Click here to watch his remarks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo) spoke in support of the McConnell-Inhofe amendment to stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s back-door cap and tax policies.
Excerpts of Sen. Barrasso’s remarks from the floor of the U.S. Senate:
“I rise today to talk about the President’s Environmental Protection Agency and his efforts to regulate our global climate by taxing, using a back door method called cap and tax.
“It happened over the last few years, but yet his Environmental Protection Agency tries to do it through a back door method. Attempts to pass this massive energy tax on to the hard-working families all across the country has failed.
“It has failed in Congress and it has failed because the American public has said we do not want new energy taxes. Americans don’t want to pay more for gasoline at the pump, but yet they are experiencing it every day. Week after week, the price at the pump goes up.
“American families don’t want to pay more for electricity to heat their homes, run their small businesses, yet the President’s Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to bypass this Congress and enact their own cap and tax policy through regulation.
“Cap and tax was unacceptable to the American people. Now, the EPA may think they know better than the American people. That is why this EPA must be stopped.
“Now, there are different ways to stop the EPA’s ongoing regulations, and we have three proposals before us today but only one is a solution. Of the other amendments, one is a surrender, another is a distraction.
“The McConnell-Inhofe amendment, the one I support, is an amendment that will block the EPA’s attempt to enact the same cap and tax bill that has been defeated time and time again on Capitol Hill.
Baucus Amendment Surrenders to EPA Overreach
“But I want to talk about the amendments that I have concern with. One is the Baucus amendment. I do not support the Baucus amendment. To me, it is an attempt to surrender in the face of the EPA’s dramatic regulatory overreach.
“It’s the so-called agriculture exemption. Now, when I talk to people in agriculture, the so-called agriculture exemption doesn’t really shield agriculture producers from increased fuel, increased energy and increased fertilizer costs.
“The factories, the refineries, the power plants that are the glue that holds the farming industry together, that allow it to function, they will be hit with significant taxes under the Baucus amendment.
“The aftershock will be felt by American small businesses and farmers across the West and the Midwest. Now, farmers and small businesses will face higher electricity costs, higher gasoline costs, higher diesel costs and higher fertilizer costs.
“Now, farms will close and the cost of produce at the local grocery store, that will go up for all Americans. So, if you have any doubt about the impact the Baucus amendment will have on farms, I would suggest you talk to the American Farm Bureau because they oppose this amendment.
Rockefeller Amendment Only Delays
“Another amendment dealing with the EPA is the Rockefeller amendment, and it calls for a partial delay of the EPA regulations for two years. This is really not a delay, it is a distraction.
“The Rockefeller amendment does nothing to stop the EPA from stalling construction permits during the two years. The amendment also does nothing to prevent the EPA from retroactively requiring costly mandates on small businesses, on power plants and on manufacturing facilities.
“It also does not prevent climate change nuisance suits which are filed in court by groups opposed to fossil fuel development. It seems to me that the Rockefeller amendment only delays job growth while giving the green light to the EPA to proceed with regulations that will be costly to American families and to our American economy.
McConnell-Inhofe Amendment is the Solution
“We really don’t need a surrender, we don’t need a distraction. What we need is a solution, and the solution is the McConnell-Inhofe amendment.
“This amendment restores the Clean Air Act to its true meaning and Congressional intent. The McConnell-Inhofe administration blocks EPA’s attempt to enact cap and tax.
“Now, they’re trying to do it a backdoor route, cap and tax. What the McConnell amendment does is blocks the EPA’s attempt by removing the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act by repealing the EPA’s endangerment finding that says carbon dioxide is a threat to public health, by repealing the tailoring rule that says the EPA can arbitrarily pick and choose which businesses they want to target. And also, by applying immediately to all greenhouse gases.
“This is the amendment that we must pass to rein in the EPA and to protect jobs. This is the amendment that’s been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, by the Business Round Table, by the American Farm Bureau and Americans for Prosperity. The list of supporters of this amendment is extensive.
“We need to get serious about America’s energy future. Congress needs the time to get this policy right. We need to make America’s energy as clean as we can as fast as we can, and do it without raising energy prices or hurting American families or jobs. The McConnell-Inhofe amendment is the right solution.”
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