U.S. Senate Votes To Strike Down Costly EPA Rules
Despite a White House veto threat, the U.S. Senate last week passed resolutions that would strike down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final regulations governing emissions from new and existing power plants. The resolution opposing regulations for existing power plants passed on a 52-46 vote, as did the resolution opposing regulations for new power plants.
The U.S. House plans to vote on identical resolutions after members return from the Thanksgiving recess. The resolutions are likely to easily pass the lower chamber, a move that would set up a veto by President Barack Obama.
MSCI supports the passage of both resolutions as a member of the Partnership for a Better Energy Future. As PBEF member and MSCI partner the National Association of Manufacturers has argued, these regulations are a key concern for the metals industry because they implement standards that take certain energy options off the table and threaten our members’ competitiveness. The rules would increase energy prices while many of our international competitors operate free from similar constraints. Indeed, as Connecting the Dots reported last week, the Clean Power Plan would raise electricity rates in 47 states and will cost from $220 billion to $292 billion between 2022 and 2033 to implement.