WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito says there may be another way to derail the federal EPA’s Clean Power Plan and that’s through the budgeting process.
“Are we going to appropriate money for the EPA to move forward on a Clean Power Plan that is uncertain in the court, is expensive and also reaches into regulatory areas where they’ve never been before?” Capito asked Wednesday during an appearance on MetroNews Talkline.
Capito serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee. She chaired a Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday on the Clean Power Plan that requires states to come up with plans to significantly reduce emissions. She said there’s been no indication from the EPA, at this time, that it is willing to work with states who anticipate a problem with coming up with a plan. Capito said the budgeting process may change the mood.
“The appropriations process is one way I think we can attack this,” Capito said.
The first-term senator also said Wednesday that she plans to introduce a bill next week that will deal with the greenhouse gas issue. A spokesperson in the senator’s office said the bill “will preserve the proper balance of state and federal authority, help ensure reliable and affordable electricity, and protect jobs and our economy.”
“I don’t have hopes that the President would really sign it but we’re trying to get bipartisan support because state’s are heavily affected,” Capito said. “It’s not just West Virginia. I know we feel like it but it’s not.”
The Clean Power Plan could go into effect as early as this summer.