League Opposes Senate Attempts to Block Clean Power Plan

The League sent a letter to the U.S. Senate opposing any attempt to block the implementation of the Administrations Clean Power Plan. Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress can review the implementation of regulations developed by the Administration. Members of the LWVUS Lobby Corps will be visiting Senate offices to discuss this groundbreaking regulation that will save lives and protect the environment.

FROM:            Elisabeth MacNamara, President

RE:                  Oppose Attempts to Block the Clean Power Plan

The League of Women Voters strongly urges you to oppose legislation in the U.S. Senate that would undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan.

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. 

Climate change is a global catastrophe on a historic scale that will change the course of human life. Confronting climate change means turning the rising tides, protecting us from dangerous extreme weather, and cutting dangerous pollution. The impacts of climate change are costly and our country cannot afford to put off action any longer.

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 Clean Power Plan will protect public health, create thousands of efficiency-related jobs, reduce electricity bills for Americans and deliver power reliably. The EPA’s finalized regulations to limit carbon pollution from new and existing sources are the central and critical components of a plan that fights climate change while strengthening the economy and protecting public health.

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 coming weeks 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 finalized regulations to reduce carbon pollution—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. We encourage you to oppose all attempts to overturn, limit or undermine these important protections. The air we breathe and the health of your constituents depend upon it.