{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140919155556/http://whitfield.house.gov/press-release/whitfield%E2%80%99s-subcommittee-reviews-epa%E2%80%99s-unworkable-power-plant-proposal-and-bipartisan", "Whitfield\u2019s Subcommittee Reviews EPA\u2019s Unworkable Power Plant Proposal and Bipartisan Legislative Solution", "2013-11-14", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Edward Whitfield", "W000413", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 The Subcommittee on Energy and Power, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield (KY-01), today held a hearing to discuss EPA\u2019s proposed greenhouse gas standards for new power plants and draft legislation authored by Chairman Whitfield and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). The bipartisan draft offers an alternative to these unworkable standards as well as EPA\u2019s planned regulations for existing power plants.\n\u201cThe regulation at issue today, the proposed greenhouse gas standards for new power plants, may well be the most damaging one yet in the agency\u2019s all-out attack on one of our nation\u2019s most affordable, reliable energy sources, coal,\u201d said Whitfield.\nWhitfield and Manchin authored their legislation in response to EPA\u2019s proposed regulation that would require new coal plants to use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that are not yet commercially viable, effectively banning new coal-fired generation in the United States. The legislation allows coal to remain part of America\u2019s energy mix, requiring EPA to set standards for new plants that are actually achievable and based on proven technologies. It also provides that Congress set the effective date for EPA\u2019s planned greenhouse gas rules for existing plants.\nTony Campbell, President and CEO of East Kentucky Power Cooperative, explained the importance of coal-fired generation to providing affordable and reliable electricity to consumers and businesses. He lent his support to the Whitfield-Manchin solution, saying, \u201cThis bipartisan bill is badly needed to ensure EPA does not promulgate a rule that jeopardizes the country\u2019s energy future, puts electricity reliability at risk, and severely harms the economy.\u201d\nMembers of the subcommittee pressed EPA Acting Assistant Administrator Janet McCabe on the feasibility of CCS technology that would be required to meet the agency\u2019s proposed standards. McCabe suggested that four plants using the technology are currently under construction or planned, but she conceded that none have reached completion and all the projects have received significant government funding. Later, engineering consultant Edward Cichanowicz testified on the second panel that, \u201cAt present, the technology is not commercially proven to allow broad application in the U.S.\u201d\nOklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt discussed states\u2019 concerns over EPA's expansive regulatory efforts being undertaken under the guise of the Clean Air Act. Pruitt, along with the attorneys general of 16 other states and one senior environmental regulator, recently submitted a white paper to EPA outlining concerns with EPA\u2019s failure to properly defer to state authority under the Clean Air Act, and the implications of the agency\u2019s planned power plant rules. Pruitt reiterated these concerns in his testimony today, stating, \u201cThe elimination of coal-based electric generation \u2013 which according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration is projected to provide 40 percent of U.S. electricity in 2014 \u2013 would result in higher electricity prices for ratepayers, and would be detrimental to the national and state economies, as well as job-creation in general. No doubt, increased electricity prices will hurt the competitiveness of American manufacturing.\u201d\nChairman Whitfield concluded, \u201cPrior to the Obama administration, the EPA and states had a decades-long history of regulating coal in ways that reduced emissions without abandoning this vital energy source. And I believe that Sen. Manchin and I have tapped into that tradition of realistic and achievable regulation with our draft legislation. Our bipartisan and bicameral proposal is the commonsense way to ensure that any greenhouse gas regulations for power plants going forward are achievable.\u201d\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://web.archive.org/web/20140919155556/http://whitfield.house.gov/press-release/whitfield%E2%80%99s-subcommittee-reviews-epa%E2%80%99s-unworkable-power-plant-proposal-and-bipartisan"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4048849698156118, "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"}