“The EPA Administrator has refused to go out and visit folks in coal country whose lives the agency is upending. The EPA Administrator won’t hold a public hearing in Wyoming…”
Click here to watch Sen. Barrasso’s speech.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) delivered the following opening statement at the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee oversight hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed carbon pollution standards for existing power plants:
Excerpts of his remarks:
“On July 6th of this year, the New York Times wrote a piece about the outsized role that the National Resources Defense Council, the NRDC had in developing the EPA’s new regulations to curb power plant emissions.
“The article focused on three key senior NRDC officials who the Times described as ‘Washington’s best-paid lobbyists’ who developed the core of EPA’s plan.
“The New York Times stated that ‘On June 2, President Obama proposed a new Environmental Protection Agency rule to curb power plant emissions that used as its blueprint the work of the three men and their team.’
“The article says ‘It was a remarkable victory for the Natural Resources Defense Council.’
“Now, for those outside the Beltway, the NRDC is a $120 million dollar a year lobbying machine backed by Hollywood elites.
“It is absolutely shameful to me that the EPA under the direction here of the Administrator, will allow this powerful group of lawyers and lobbyists to draft their regulations – but yet this same Administrator refuses to actually listen to the people whose lives and jobs will be severely impacted by these regulations drawn up by wealthy lawyers and lobbyists.
“In fact, the Administrator refuses to listen to the thousands of Americans who will be impacted by this rule.
“The EPA Administrator has refused to go out and visit folks in coal country whose lives the agency is upending.
“The EPA Administrator won’t hold a public hearing in Wyoming—won’t hold a public hearing in Kentucky.
“The EPA Administrator has literally gone out of her way and the EPA has gone out of its way to avoid hearing from unemployed families who have lost or will lose everything—their job, their homes, their retirement savings, issues relating to their health.
“All because this EPA decided to push a rule that was drafted behind closed doors by powerful, wealthy, Washington lawyers and lobbyists at the NRDC.
“Let’s be clear, the NRDC is a wealthy, elite, powerful lobbying machine with more than influence over decision making in Washington than and ordinary American citizen.
“They have millions, which gives them access. The EPA has turned a deaf ear on those who don’t.
“It should come as no surprise that this is how the EPA’s regulations for new and existing power plants was hatched.
“In fact, the Times article argues that the NRDC employs this very same tactic used during the Bush Administration to craft their comprehensive energy strategy.
“When the Bush energy strategy was released at the time, the NRDC issued the following statement about how it was crafted, the NRDC said: ‘The conclusions of the Cheney task force are a product of an undemocratic process. When NRDC filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents identifying members of the task force and the calendars of task force members, the Department of Energy denied the request.’
“I would say this is quite a change of heart by this group of wealthy Washington lobbyists and lawyers.
“If I am wrong, then the NRDC and the EPA and its Administrator can provide and should provide all records and documents that are requested by members of this committee and my House colleagues on how these new regulations for coal fired plants were crafted, because right now it sure looks like the EPA let a trio of high powered Washington lobbyists write their regulations for them.
“If what the Times is reporting is what the EPA Administrator has called ‘preposterous,’ then the EPA must comply with any committee and Freedom of Information Act requests for these documents.
“Comply with requests from our House colleagues. Comply so that we can then know the truth.
“If the answer is no, that you will not comply, or that there are more record keeping mishaps, broken hard drives, lost files, then we’ll know the truth about this agency as well.”
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