by Scott R. Bowers
Director of Government and Public Relations,
Indiana Statewide Association of RECs, Inc.

EPA’s regulatory route to cap greenhouses gases ignores the will of Congress

For several months, the American public has been bombarded with the often intense and vigorous debate in Congress regarding the ballooning federal debt, cutting federal spending, the federal budget for both fiscal years 2011 and 2012, a potential shutdown of the federal government, overhauling the federal entitlement programs, and even continued federal funding of Planned Parenthood.

With the federal government currently divided two to one, with the Democrats controlling the White House and the U.S. Senate and Republicans in firm control of the U.S. House, the contrast in philosophy, ideology, priorities, and leadership could not be more stark.

Due to the issues discussed extensively throughout the 2010 election cycle, the financial state of the country is rightfully at the forefront of the issues our elected representatives in Washington are debating. Even though the vast majority of the American people accepts and understands the fiscal health of the country is our most pressing priority, other substantial federal issues that would have lasting ramifications on the rural electric cooperative consumers are being debated as well.

While most had thought that the battle over cap-and-trade legislation was fought and won, the issue is still alive and threatening the continued affordability and reliability of electric generation and transmission in this country.

Recently, members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate worked to address the ongoing concern regarding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its efforts to use administrative action to implement cap-and-trade type regulations on the American energy industry and business. Although the Democrat-controlled Congress failed to pass cap-and-trade legislation during the previous congressional session, other avenues are being used to ignore the will of the legislative branch to enact regulations that it believes are “for our own good.”

The latest example of this type of bureaucratic overreach is the EPA’s plan to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases. During the week of April 4, the U.S. House passed H.R. 910 (The Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011) by a vote of 255-172. This legislation, which was supported by 19 Democrat members of Congress, bans the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases and would require congressional approval for future regulatory rules. Seven of Indiana’s nine members of Congress voted in support of H.R. 910, and five of those seven served as co-sponsors on the bill.

Earlier that same week, 50 U.S. senators voted in favor of an amendment that called for the same ban on the EPA that is outlined in H.R. 910. Sen. Richard Lugar and Sen. Dan Coats, both of Indiana, voted in support of the proposed amendment. Unfortunately, due to Senate rules, 60 votes were needed in order to pass this amendment.

Even with the pledge by the White House to veto any efforts by Congress to prohibit the EPA’s regulatory authority over greenhouse gases, members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate sent a strong message that the efforts of federal bureaucrats to regulate through administrative rule will not be tolerated and that regulatory rules will be made with the consent of Congress.
The legislative dynamics of this important fight will continue to evolve, and I suspect we haven’t heard the last from the members of Congress who want to rein in regulatory agencies such as the EPA.

Therefore, it is important to understand the continued fight for affordability does, in fact, still exist and has taken on a new form.
Your statewide electric cooperative association, your member co-op, and your national association work tirelessly to educate elected officials at the federal level of government on issues that impact energy affordability and reliability.

In fact, during the first week of May, electric cooperative leaders from Indiana and across the country will be visiting Capitol Hill to work with congressional leaders on important issues such as reining in uncontrolled regulatory mandates by federal agencies like the EPA in regards to greenhouse gases and coal ash, continued funding for and expanding the uses of the Rural Utilities Service loan program, reforming the railroad antitrust exemption and replacing the Clean Renewable Energy Bond program to name just a few.

But we can’t do it alone. It is still imperative that you, the consumer, voter, and constituent stay informed on the issues and keep in touch with your REMC. As your efforts during the cap-and-trade debate showed – you can and will make a difference.