{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.inhofe.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/inhofe-urges-epa-to-withdraw-clean-power-plant-rule", "INHOFE URGES EPA TO WITHDRAW CLEAN POWER PLANT RULE", "2014-12-02", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "OK", "James Inhofe", "I000024", "www.inhofe.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "INHOFE URGES EPA TO WITHDRAW CLEAN POWER PLANT RULE\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, December 2, 2014\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 \u00a0U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, sent a letter\u00a0Monday\u00a0to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy urging the EPA to withdraw its Clean Power Plan rule from consideration.\u00a0 In the letter, Inhofe highlights that the\u00a0Clean Power Plan rule, a key component of the President\u2019s Climate Action Plan, is in clear conflict of the Clean Air Act and would impose a mandate on states that has been expressly prohibited by Congress.\r\nInhofe wrote,\u00a0\u201cThe clear language of the Clean Air Act (the Act) unambiguously prohibits the promulgation of this proposed rule.\u00a0 When Congress gave EPA the authority to require state-by-state pollution controls on existing sources under section 111(d) of the Act, it was extremely sensitive to the possibility of subjecting sources to double-regulation by both the states and the federal government.\u00a0 As such, Congress expressly prohibited EPA from requiring state-by-state regulations of categories of sources where it had already established a national standard.\u00a0 The Act states that EPA may not mandate standards from \u2018a source category which is regulated under section 112\u2019 of the Act.\u201d\r\nInhofe goes on to argue that the rule should be withdrawn also on the basis of it being an unauthorized expansion of EPA\u2019s authority. If EPA moves forward with the rule, it would be in direct contradiction to the recent Supreme Court decision in\u00a0Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG) v. EPA\u00a0which struck EPA\u2019s Tailoring Rule because it ushered in an \u201cenormous and transformative expansion in EPA\u2019s regulatory authority without clear congressional authorization.\u201d\r\nThe Clean Power Plan would also place unnecessary burden on the U.S. electric grid, which could have a severe, negative impact on U.S. economic competitiveness. \u00a0In the letter, Inhofe highlighted how Oklahomans would be directly affected as part by the rule and would likely see power prices spike.\u00a0 As part of the Southwest Power Pool, Oklahomans could also face rolling blackouts by as early as 2020.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe rule will also have a dramatic impact on the nation\u2019s electricity reliability, adding to its political and economic significance.\u00a0 The North American Electric Reliability Corporation issued a report warning of the major adverse effects the rule could have on grid reliability, highlighting that EPA\u2019s estimate that as many as 134 gigawatts, or about 10 percent of our nation\u2019s total electric generating capacity, could be forced to retire by 2020. This may be too aggressive for power providers to effectively meet without sacrificing reliability.\u00a0\u00a0 Further, the Southwest Power Pool, to which Oklahoma is a party, determined that this rule could result in rolling blackouts and leave the region far below needed reserve margins by 2020.\u00a0 By 2024, the rule could reduce generating capacity so much that the region may not have the power needed to meet demand, reserve margins aside,\u201d Inhofe said.\r\nThe public comment period on the Clean Power Plant rule ended on Monday.\r\nTo read the full letter, please click here.\r\n   \u00a0###", 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://www.inhofe.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/inhofe-urges-epa-to-withdraw-clean-power-plant-rule"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3812859542667866, "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"}