The United States Senate today defeated a resolution sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) that would have prevented the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing the so-called “Utility MACT” rule severely limiting mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. Critics say the rule will cost the economy billions of dollars and lead to higher energy costs because of the forced shut-down of many coal-fire plants.
The following statements from energy and environment policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Tammy Nash at [email protected] and 312/377-4000. After regular business hours, contact Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/731-9364.
“The U.S. Senate was given a choice today between affordable conventional energy and the higher energy prices resulting from expensive alternative sources. As we approach the November elections, I suspect voters will be well aware of our soaring energy costs and how their individual senators voted today.”
James M. Taylor
Senior Fellow for Environmental Policy
The Heartland Institute [email protected]
312-377-5000″Then-candidate Obama promised in January 2008: ‘So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them.’
“The Utility MACT is the Obama EPA’s attempt to help the president keep this promise. Unfortunately, the Senate voted down a resolution sponsored by U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) to stop this regulatory nightmare, which threatens to jeopardize our nation’s energy supply. Ironically, the vote came on a day when the heartland of the United States is broiling in 90+ degree weather – in which air conditioning is not a luxury but a necessity.”
Maureen Martin
Senior Fellow for Legal Affairs
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312-377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 28-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.
Maureen Martin, a former legal fellow at The Heartland Institute, passed away on February 5, 2013.
