Washington – Senator Chuck Grassley today joined in introducing a bill to safeguard the Clean Air Act and stop efforts by the administration to subvert the law with new regulations that would drive up energy costs for consumers and employers nationwide.
The legislation responds to the effort by the Environmental Protection Agency to put in place new federal regulations to limit greenhouse gases by going around Congress. Grassley said any such policy changes should be made by Congress, where officials can be held accountable by the people.
The proposed Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011 would amend the Clean Air Act to clarify that the law does not give the Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate greenhouse gases and repeal the endangerment finding crafted by the agency to justify the controversial regulations.
“The executive branch is trying to implement cap-and-trade type policies that don’t have enough support to pass Congress. The result would be more expensive gasoline and electricity, at the expense of individuals, families and job creation. Any policy with this sort of impact should be debated by Congress, which is designed to reflect the will of the people and where there’s accountability for decisions,” Grassley said.
The bill introduced today has the support of 41 senators.
Grassley said that the Midwest economy takes an even bigger hit than the East and West coasts under the regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. “It’s a matter of fair treatment and representative government that these policies should be made by elected representatives, not the unelected bureaucracy,” he said.