League Opposes S. 1324 Senator Capito’s “Polluter Protection Act"

The League sent a letter to the U.S. Senate opposing S. 1324 sponsored by Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). The “Polluter Protection Act” will protect big polluters by blocking the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan. Members of the LWVUS Lobby Corps will be visiting Senate offices to discuss this legislation.

TO:                  Members of the U.S. Senate

FROM:             Elisabeth MacNamara, President

RE:                  Oppose Senator Capito’s “Polluter Protection Act,” S. 1324

The League of Women Voters strongly urges you to oppose legislation in the Senate that would allow power plants to continue dumping unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air, especially S. 1324 introduced by Senator Capito.

The League of Women Voters has been at the forefront of the environmental protection movement for decades, consistently supporting legislation to preserve our nation’s natural resources and protect our public health. We support legislation that seeks to safeguard our country from the physical, economic and public health effects of climate change while also providing pathways to economic prosperity. 

S. 1324 will protect big polluters by blocking the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan. The EPA has put forth a commonsense plan, with building blocks for states to put together their own plans to meet these clean air protections. The Clean Power Plan will protect public health, create thousands of efficiency related jobs, reduce electricity bills for Americans and deliver power reliably. 

Carbon pollution is the number one contributor to climate change and power plants are the largest source of industrial carbon pollution in the U.S.  The impacts of climate change are costly and our country cannot afford to put off action any longer. The EPA’s proposed regulations to limit carbon pollution from new and existing sources are the central and critical components of a plan that puts people before polluters.

Senator Capito’s legislation will block the EPA’s life saving measures and destroy the federal guarantee that makes the Clean Air Act work. We encourage you to oppose this legislation and all attempts to overturn, limit or undermine these important protections. The air we breathe and the health of your constituents depend upon it.

The U.S. is in a unique position to lead the world in the fight against climate change—it’s time we step up to the challenge. World leaders will head to Paris in the fall of 2015 to set meaningful goals to fight climate change together. Significant steps from the U.S. to continue lowering emissions of dangerous greenhouse gasses—like the proposed regulations to reduce carbon pollution, methane and ozone—could significantly impact discussions on the world stage.

The League of Women Voters hopes you will make a commitment to support people not polluters by supporting EPA’s Clean Power Plan.