COLORADO – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today issued the following statement in response to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s signing of a proposed rule to repeal the Clean Power Plan.
“Once again, it’s clear the President’s priorities are not in line with those of the American people,” Bennet said. “Repealing the Clean Power Plan-which the administration is justifying with alternative facts- threatens thousands of new jobs and billions in revenue to our economy, all while sacrificing clean air for our families. In Colorado, where we have already committed to meeting carbon standards set under the Clean Power Plan, we will continue creating jobs, saving money, and protecting our air quality. The administration should want this outcome for the entire country, and it should reverse this shortsighted and damaging decision.”
In the Clean Power Plan revision released today, Administrator Pruitt only accounted for 14 percent of the scientifically-developed value of cutting carbon dioxide emissions. This is another example of why Bennet introduced the Pollution Transparency Act last week. The bicameral bill, which Bennet led 13 Senate colleagues in cosponsoring, would standardize the metric used by federal agencies to measure the cost of climate pollution. This effort would prevent the Trump administration from ignoring science and economics when valuing the costs of climate change in rulemakings, including the Clean Power Plan and BLM’s methane standards, ultimately creating greater market and regulatory certainty.
The Clean Power Plan set the first-ever national standards to reduce carbon pollution from power plants by 32 percent. By 2030, the plan would have provided $54 billion in climate and health benefits each year, prevented thousands of premature deaths and asthma attacks in children, reduced electricity bills for homes and businesses, and created thousands of high-paying jobs.