Senate to Vote on Senator Inhofe’s Resolution to Block EPA’s Utility MACT Rule

Deneen Borelli and her husband Tom, both conservative activists, were recently in Charleston, WV, to call attention to the failure of Senators Manchin and Rockefeller to protect their constituents from President Obama’s war on coal.

At an estimated cost of $10 billion a year, the Utility MACT Rule is the most expensive regulation ever issued by the EPA. The rule is playing a major role in forcing utilities to close an estimated 57 to 140 coal-fired power plants.

“It’s outrageous that Senators Manchin and Rockefeller are allowing President Obama to destroy the coal industry. It’s time for these Senators to stand up for hard working families in West Virginia and just say no to Obama’s war on coal,” said Deneen Borelli.

“In my book ‘Blacklash,’ I describe in detail how President Obama’s war on fossil fuels is designed to raise energy prices and lower the living standards of Americans. Obama’s energy policy is a disaster for all Americans but it is especially harsh for West Virginia,” added Deneen Borelli.

Under President Obama, the EPA has issued the Utility MACT Rule and the Cross State Air Pollution Rule. In addition, the agency recently proposed a rule targeting greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants.

President Obama’s war on coal will hit states such as West Virginia the hardest. In a recent video highlighted by Senator Inhofe, an EPA official acknowledged that the consequences of the new proposed performance standard for greenhouse gas emissions for new power plants would be especially “painful” for communities that depend on coal.

 The EPA administrator said, “Because you got to remember that if you go to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and all those places, you have coal communities who depend on coal. And to say that we just think those communities should just go away, we can't do that. But [Administrator Jackson] had to do what the law and policy suggested. And it's painful. It's painful every step of the way.”

“The citizens of West Virginia should be asking why a Senator from Oklahoma is doing more to protect their state than the Senators they voted into office. Senators Manchin and Rockefeller are making a mockery of representative government,” said Tom Borelli, Ph.D.

“Senators Manchin and Rockefeller must put partisan politics aside and vote for Senator Inhofe’s resolution. This would be a great step to initiate the rolling back of EPA regulations.” added Tom Borelli.

Deneen Borelli is a conservative activist and author of “Blacklash: How Obama and the Left are Driving Americans to the Government Plantation.”

Tom Borelli, Ph.D. is a conservative activist who specializes in energy issues and a prominent critic of crony capitalism.