[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 28, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2017-S2018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ENERGY REGULATORY POLICY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, throughout my career in the Senate, I 
have worked hard to defend coal communities and the jobs they and so 
many across the country depend on. These men and women have dedicated 
their lives to providing an affordable and reliable power source for 
our homes, businesses, and communities. They deserve our respect and 
our support.
  The same is true of America's middle class, more broadly. Middle-
class families had a hard enough time over the past 8 years without 
Washington making things worse. I think they deserve respect and 
support, not fewer jobs and unaffordable energy bills.
  Unfortunately, the previous administration didn't see things the same 
way. Instead, the Obama administration launched energy attack after 
energy attack on Kentucky and America's middle class, threatening 
critical jobs and making coal more costly to mine and use.
  Indeed, a couple years ago, then-President Obama finalized a massive 
regressive energy regulatory scheme that claimed to be about helping 
the climate but actually would have done little to truly impact global 
emissions. What it would have done is punish coal families, ship 
middle-class jobs overseas, and hurt the economy. It was also likely 
illegal. So I sent a letter counseling Governors to wait for the courts 
to rule on the legality of the regulation before submitting a 
compliance plan. It was not a popular move at the time, but it turns 
out that it was the right one. I am glad that nearly half of our 
Nation's Governors agreed with my advice to take a wait-and-see 
approach before needlessly putting their States in economic jeopardy.
  I am proud to report that we will notch an important victory in this 
struggle later today. I commend President Trump for the decision to 
sign the energy independence Executive order and send several anti-
middle-class regulations back to the drawing board. From the outset, I 
warned that regulations like these would hurt coal workers and 
America's middle class. One report predicted that more than 40 States 
could have seen double-digit electricity rate hikes as a result of the 
Clean Power Plan energy regulatory plan. We all know that low- and 
fixed-income families would have suffered the most. And for what? For a 
regulation that hardly would have moved the needle on climate anyway.
  Talking about bad policy, it is important to remember how we got 
here. President Obama came into office with huge majorities in both 
Houses of Congress. He could have done virtually anything he wanted, 
and he certainly tried. He pushed through one left-wing policy after 
another. He even tried to push through a regressive, anti-middle-class 
energy regulatory plan--one so extreme that he couldn't even get his 
own Democrat-controlled Congress to go along with it. Undeterred, he 
went around Congress and imposed a similarly regressive energy scheme 
anyway.
  It was evident that the Obama administration had overstepped its 
authority. That is why I sent the letter I mentioned earlier to the 
Nation's Governors, urging them not to comply with the CPP's demands 
but instead to take a wait-and-see approach before putting their States 
in economic jeopardy.
  Because of the legal uncertainty of President Obama's plan, 27 States 
joined the fight in Federal court. In February 2016, the Supreme Court 
issued an unprecedented nationwide halt on this regulation--a 
nationwide halt. Despite the Court's order, the damage of President 
Obama's war on coal has already negatively impacted middle-class 
families across the country and coal communities in Kentucky. When 
plants shut down and miners lose their jobs, the entire community feels 
the pain. With less tax revenue, local governments are unable to pay 
teachers and first responders. These hardships often lead to a rise in 
crime and drug abuse that troubles these communities. Moreover, the 
Obama administration's massive regulatory burdens were imposed during a 
period when production and supply of natural gas had

[[Page S2018]]

been high and its costs relatively low--a devastating one-two punch to 
families already struggling to make it.
  To make matters worse, President Obama didn't stop with the CPP. He 
also sought to impose similar limitations on any new plants in an 
attempt to prevent them from being built at all. It is an equally 
concerning regulation and one that would have further devastated coal 
communities. I am glad President Trump will include it in his Executive 
order today.
  Coal communities face enough challenges without Washington piling on 
more with these unfortunate attacks. Fortunately, we have a President 
who will work with us to provide much needed relief.
  Today's Executive order is good news for coal communities. It is a 
victory for middle-class families and another important step away from 
the overregulation of the Obama years.
  We all want clean air and clean water, but that is not what President 
Obama's energy regulatory policies were actually about. It was an 
ideological vanity project. It wouldn't have even solved the problem it 
purported to address.
  Now, fortunately, the EPA will have the opportunity to go back to the 
drawing board and get this right with balanced and serious policies. 
The EPA should work with stakeholders across the country to develop 
sensible policies that balance the economic needs of our communities 
with the realities of our environment. This way we can protect 
America's middle class, America's miners, and America's natural 
resources all at once.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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