WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) today responded to reports that the Obama administration intends to circumvent Congress in striking an international agreement on global greenhouse gas emissions. President Obama failed to enact cap-and-tax legislation with a Democratic House and Senate in the 111th Congress, and Republican members have expressed repeated concern that the administration has since been working to regulate where it failed to legislate, no matter the consequences to the U.S. economy and jobs.
Whitfield commented, “President Obama’s administration is creating adverse economic factors for folks in Kentucky and across the nation to endure. And if these reports are indeed accurate, the president is looking to commit the United States to a UN climate agreement which will be symbolic globally, but will impose real costs on all Americans. Rather than say yes to energy and yes to jobs, the Obama administration is going to extreme measures to sidestep Congress because they cannot get their way, even with a Democratic majority in the Senate. And for what? EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has even stated that it is unlikely that her agency’s regulations will meaningfully affect future climate change, and they are simply part of an ‘overall strategy ’ to demonstrate global leadership. U.S. energy-related emissions have declined and our air is cleaner than ever, and yet the president still wants to restrict access to coal and other sources of affordable energy, putting more and more American jobs at risk while in pursuit of global praise. We are blessed with abundant resources to provide jobs and affordable energy to all Americans - we need to get our priorities straight."
