[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 103 (Thursday, June 25, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RATEPAYER PROTECTION ACT OF 2015

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                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 24, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2042) to 
     allow for judicial review of any final rule addressing carbon 
     dioxide emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired electric 
     utility generating units before requiring compliance with 
     such rule, and to allow States to protect households and 
     businesses from significant adverse effects on electricity 
     ratepayers or reliability:

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this legislation 
which would significantly exacerbate climate change by gutting the 
President's plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants.
   My home state of California is currently experiencing the worst 
drought in its history, and scientists say it is made more severe 
because of the warming climate in California. High temperatures have 
caused record low levels of mountain snowpack and water evaporation in 
reservoirs, rivers, and soil. This means mandatory water cuts, fallowed 
fields, and higher risk of wildfires as we move into the heart of the 
dry season. With continued increases in global temperatures due to 
carbon emissions, droughts like California's will become even more 
common across the country.
   These extreme drought and wildfire conditions are not unique to 
California. States across the west including Oklahoma, Nevada, Utah, 
and Oregon are experiencing ``extreme'' or ``exceptional'' drought 
conditions, according to the USDA. This is a crisis across the West and 
scientists tell us that it will be more common as man-made carbon 
emissions continue to warm the planet.
   The costs of failing to address climate change grow with every year 
that we fail to take action. In 2012 alone, climate-related disasters 
including drought, wildfires, and severe weather including Hurricane 
Sandy, cost the economy over $100 billion. That works out to a $300 tax 
on every American, and it will continue to increase as severe weather 
becomes more common and sea levels continue to rise. On top of those 
disasters, the White House Council on Economic Advisers calculated that 
failing to meet our climate goals will cost the U.S. $150 billion per 
year in reduced economic output, and each decade of ignoring climate 
change increases the costs of mitigation by 40 percent.
   In the absence of Congressional action to address climate change, 
the Administration is taking strong action which I support. But the 
bill before us today would allow the Clean Power Plan to be blocked 
indefinitely and would set a dangerous precedent of allowing states to 
opt out of national air quality standards. The Supreme Court has upheld 
the authority of the EPA to regulate carbon emissions on three separate 
occasions since 2007, yet this bill would allow lawsuits to permanently 
delay the Clean Power Plan. The bill also removes the federal backstop 
that has made the Clean Air Act one of the most successful 
environmental laws in our nation's history, cutting harmful air 
pollution by 90 percent since its passage in 1970.
   Under the premise of protecting ratepayers, who will actually see 
their bills go down under the Clean Power Plan, this legislation is a 
major step backward for our country's efforts to fight climate change.
   I urge the rejection of this legislation.

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