[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 59 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 59

  Expressing the sense of Congress that the Environmental Protection 
 Agency should hold public listening sessions on regulations targeting 
  carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants in those States 
          most directly impacted by the potential regulations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 8, 2013

    Mrs. Capito (for herself, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. 
McKinley, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Smith of Missouri, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Rogers of 
   Kentucky, Mr. Terry, Mr. Stivers, Mr. Guthrie, Mrs. Walorski, Mr. 
  Gosar, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Long, Mr. Luetkemeyer, Mr. 
 Daines, and Mr. Barr) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of Congress that the Environmental Protection 
 Agency should hold public listening sessions on regulations targeting 
  carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants in those States 
          most directly impacted by the potential regulations.

Whereas coal provides affordable, reliable energy that provides low-cost 
        electricity to individuals and businesses across the country;
Whereas nearly 40 percent of all electricity generated in the United States 
        comes from coal;
Whereas the 15 States with the highest percentage of electricity generated from 
        coal in 2012 were West Virginia, Kentucky, Wyoming, Indiana, Missouri, 
        North Dakota, Utah, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, 
        Montana, and Wisconsin;
Whereas President Obama announced on June 25, 2013, that the Environmental 
        Protection Agency would promulgate regulations targeting greenhouse gas 
        emissions from existing coal-fired power plants with a proposed rule to 
        be released in June 2014 and a final rule adopted in June 2015;
Whereas, on September 30, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency announced 
        the public listening sessions on rulemaking targeting greenhouse gas 
        emissions from existing coal-fired power plants would be held in Boston, 
        Massachusetts; New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 
        Atlanta, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; Lenexa, Kansas; San Francisco, 
        California; Washington, DC; Dallas, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and 
        Chicago, Illinois;
Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency's announcement of the listening 
        sessions states that ``[t]he feedback from these 11 public listening 
        sessions will play an important role in helping EPA develop smart, cost-
        effective guidelines that reflect the latest and best information 
        available'';
Whereas none of the 11 public listening sessions announced by the Environmental 
        Protection Agency will be held in one of the 10 States with the highest 
        percentage of electricity generated from coal;
Whereas none of the 11 public listening sessions announced by the Environmental 
        Protection Agency will be held in one of the top 3 coal-producing 
        States;
Whereas the 10 States and the District of Columbia where public listening 
        sessions will be held generate an average of 26 percent of their 
        electricity from coal;
Whereas regulatory efforts that could lead to the retirement of additional coal-
        fired power plants would have a disproportionate impact on jobs, utility 
        rates, and the overall economy in States that rely on coal for a higher 
        percentage of electricity generation;
Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency should use its public listening 
        sessions to hear the potential impact of its regulatory actions in those 
        States where the regulatory impact would be the greatest; and
Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency's stated goal of using the listening 
        sessions to help EPA ``develop smart, cost-effective guidelines'' cannot 
        be achieved by excluding the views of residents in those States that 
        rely most heavily on coal for electricity generation: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) public listening sessions on rulemaking targeting 
        carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants should be 
        held in each of the fifteen States with the highest percentage 
        of electricity generated by coal in 2012 (West Virginia, 
        Kentucky, Wyoming, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah, 
        Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Montana, 
        and Wisconsin); and
            (2) such listening sessions should be held at a time and 
        place that would maximize the ability of individuals to 
        participate.
                                 <all>