{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://clarke.house.gov/rep-clarke-chairwoman-maloney-and-rep-ocasio-cortez-call-on-government-accountability-office-to-evaluate-the-impacts-of-peaker-power-plant-pollution/", "REP. CLARKE, CHAIRWOMAN MALONEY, AND REP. OCASIO-CORTEZ CALL ON GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE TO EVALUATE THE IMPACTS OF PEAKER POWER PLANT POLLUTION", "2021-12-22", "2021", "2021-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Yvette D. Clarke", "C001067", "clarke.house.gov", "clarke", "https://clarke.house.gov/category/press-release/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nDecember 22, 2021\n\nMEDIA CONTACT:\n\ne: jeanette.lenoir@mail.house.gov\n\nc: 202.480.5737\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Committee Member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent a letter to Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro, head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), requesting that GAO examine \u200bthe impact of peaker power plant pollution on frontline communities and evaluate replacement strategies.\n\nPeaker plants, which burn dirty fuel when electricity demand peaks, are less efficient and more expensive than typical baseload power plants, and are more likely to be located in low-income neighborhoods and in communities of color. Millions of Americans across the country live near peaker plants. New York City alone has 89 peaker units, including 49 in Rep. Clarke\u2019s home borough of Brooklyn\u200b, 28 in the vicinity of Chairwoman Maloney\u2019s district\u200b, and 16 in Rep. Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s district.\n\n\u201cAddressing the use of peaker plants, which can emit twice the carbon and up to 20 times the nitrous oxides of a typical plant while operating significantly less efficiently, represents a high-impact opportunity to reduce climate risks and tackle a life-threatening environmental justice issue,\u201d wrote the Members. \u201cWe request GAO\u2019s assistance in reporting on key data to assess damage, uncover health burdens, calculate economic costs, and identify alternative solutions to the use of peaker power plants.\u201d\n\nIn their letter, the Members underscore that GAO\u2019s evaluation will be critical \u200bto expose the health burdens associated with peaker power plants, calculate economic costs, and identify \u200bequitable alternatives to \u200bmeet peak electricity demand.\n\nIn July 2021, the Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing on President Biden\u2019s Justice40 Initiative, a key White House environmental justice policy. One expert testified that 3,000 deaths per year in New York City are attributable to particulate matter and that peaker plant pollution is among the primary culprits.\n\nIn August 2021, Rep. Clarke \u2014original sponsor of the Promoting Energy Alternatives is Key to Emission Reductions (PEAKER) Act of 2021\u2014 and Chairwoman Maloney met with environmental justice leaders and \u201cAsthma Alley\u201d residents ahead of the Committee\u2019s field roundtable on peaker power plants in Queens, New York. Immediately \u200bfollowing the roundtable, Chairwoman Maloney provided testimony against a peaker plant proposal in Rep. Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s district at a public hearing. In October 2021, New York State denied a Clean Air Act permit needed to go forward with the proposal.\n\nClick here to read the full letter.\n\n###\n\nYvette D. Clarke has been in Congress since 2007. She represents New York\u2019s Ninth Congressional District, which includes Central and South Brooklyn. Clarke is Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Taskforce on Immigration, a Senior Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and a Senior Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://clarke.house.gov/rep-clarke-chairwoman-maloney-and-rep-ocasio-cortez-call-on-government-accountability-office-to-evaluate-the-impacts-of-peaker-power-plant-pollution/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.450554933398962, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}