(WASHINGTON, DC) –Eighth District Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D., member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement praising Governor Mike Pence’s announcement that Indiana will not comply with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan in its current form.

“I echo Governor Pence’s concerns with the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan. These regulations will drastically impact our state’s coal industry and put at risk thousands of good-paying jobs and affordable energy on which our families and manufacturers rely. That’s why last year I personally invited President Obama and a senior EPA official to tour a Hoosier coal mine and meet with the hardworking miners that this plan will affect. This week, I’m supporting the “Ratepayer Protection Act,” which will halt these regulations and protect states, like Indiana, from being forced to implement a federal plan that will cause significant rate increases for residents. I applaud Governor Pence for taking a stand against this aggressive federal overreach by calling on the EPA to significantly change or rescind this plan.”

More information on the Governor’s letter to President Obama can be found here –http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=221567&information_id=215753&type=&syndicate=syndicate.

State Sen. Vaneta Becker (R-Evansville) will serve on the following study committees, commissions and councils during the summer and fall months to help prepare for the 2016 session of the General Assembly:

• Interim Study Committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health, and Human Services
• Interim Study Committee on Roads and Transportation
• Indiana Commission for Women
• Commission on Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises
• Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Interagency Coordinating Council

“Study committees are an important part of Indiana’s legislative process because they allow lawmakers to hear input from the public,” Becker said. “My colleagues and I are able to get a balanced and in-depth perspective on proposals that will come before the General Assembly in the upcoming session.”

When Indiana’s part-time legislature is not in session, lawmakers are assigned to interim study committees that meet to review the state’s top issues, as identified by the General Assembly during the prior legislative session.

Study committee topics are assigned by the bipartisan Legislative Council, comprised of 16 voting members — eight from the House of Representatives and eight from the Senate.

To view interim committee agendas and stream hearings online, visit www.in.gov/iga. More information about topics that will be examined can be found here.

(WASHINGTON, DC) – On Wednesday, Eighth District Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. voted to pass, H.R. 2042, The Ratepayer Protection Act,  a bill introduced by Congressman Ed Whitfield (KY-01), to protect families and businesses from significant electricity rate increases or reduced electric reliability that may result from EPA’s pending regulations for existing power plants, also known as the “Clean Power Plan.”

“This bill will protect the thousands of jobs and low-cost energy for our families and manufactures that are being put at risk by aggressive EPA overreach,” said Bucshon. “With 80 percent of Indiana’s energy generated from coal, the EPA isn’t just attacking our jobs and affordable energy; this plan will damage the reliability of our electric grid. 

 

“States have serious concerns that this plan will increase their citizens’ electric bills. Just today, Governor Pence announced that Indiana will not comply with the EPA’s plan unless it is drastically improved, and I agree with his stance.” 

H.R. 2042 passed the House by a vote of 247 to 180 and has gained support from over 200 organizations.

Earlier today, Governor Mike Pence announced that Indiana will not comply with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan in its current form. You can find Dr. Bucshon’s statement of support here - http://goo.gl/WWk84s.

SUMMARY: 

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced H.R. 2042 to allow for timely judicial review before states would be required to comply with the rule and to ensure a state would not be forced to implement a state or federal plan that would have a significant adverse effect on its ratepayers.

Extend Compliance Dates: The bill would extend the rule’s compliance dates pending judicial review, including the dates for submission of state plans.

Safe Harbor for States to Protect Ratepayers: The bill would provide that no state shall be required to implement a state or federal plan that the state’s governor, in consultation with other relevant state officials, determines would have a significant adverse effect on (i) retail, commercial, or industrial ratepayers; or (ii) the reliability of the state’s electricity system.

BACKGROUND: 

Last June, EPA proposed a rule for existing power plants, referred to by the agency as its “Clean Power Plan.” In the rule, EPA interprets a rarely invoked provision of the Clean Air Act, section 111(d), to allow the agency to set mandatory carbon dioxide (CO2) “goals” for each state’s electricity system. In the rule, EPA seeks to fundamentally change how electricity is generated, distributed, and consumed in the United States.

Under EPA’s unprecedented proposal, states would be required to submit complex state plans to EPA in 2016, and to begin to meet interim goals in 2020 and a final goal in 2030. For states that do not submit a satisfactory plan, EPA would impose a federal plan, a model of which has not yet been proposed by the agency. EPA estimates annual costs of $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion in 2020 and $7.3 billion to $8.8 billion in 2030. But according to other forecasts, the potential costs are much higher and could range from $366 billion to $479 billion over the period 2017-2031.

State governors, regulators, and other stakeholders have submitted extensive comments raising a wide range of concerns, from the legality of the rule to how it would be implemented, the significantly higher electricity costs, and the risks to electric reliability. According to a summary of state concerns, “32 states made legal objections, 28 raised significant concerns regarding compliance costs and economic impacts, 32 warned of electricity reliability problems, and 34 states objected to EPA’s rushed regulatory timelines.” EPA plans to finalize the rule this summer.