Whitfield’s Anti-Clean Power Plan Bill is a Disgrace

Ratepayer Protection Act Passes the House Energy and Commerce Committee – April 29, 2015

“The Ratepayer Protection Act is a disgrace. It encourages states to ignore the law of the land, and does so for the sole purpose of increasing the threat of climate change.

“The Clean Power Plan would set the first-ever national limits on the amount of climate-disrupting pollution that power plants can dump into our air. Rep. Ed Whitfield’s bill would allow states to ‘opt out’ of obeying the law, so their power plants can keep emitting unlimited amounts of dangerous pollution.

“The Ratepayer Protection Act doesn’t even live up to its own name. EPA estimates the Clean Power Plan will lower Americans’ electric bills by eight percent when it is fully implemented. Allowing states to evade the law will only ‘protect’ ratepayers from saving money.

“Congress should not set a precedent that our national laws are optional. Congress should work to protect Americans from the dangers of climate change, but instead we have this bill that does the exact opposite. This is not the leadership we need.”

                - Elizabeth Thompson, president of EDFAction