Ed Whitfield: “I am delighted that we have this bill on the floor today. I am going to confine my remarks to one piece of legislation…”

“I am delighted that we have this bill on the floor today. I am going to confine my remarks to one piece of legislation, and that is the Electricity Security and Affordability Act. This legislation has passed the House before, and it is designed to do two things. One is to reverse the extreme regulations coming out of the EPA on existing coal-fired plants and new coal-fired plants. We all understand that the President of the United States views that the number one issue facing mankind today is climate change, and, while we all recognize that there is climate change, we do not view it as the most important issue facing man today. Because of the President's position--his extreme views--he is dictating to the EPA to take positions that are damaging the coal industry but, more important than the coal industry, damaging the electricity produced from coal. {time} 1630 Now, what does that mean to the American people? Well, how many of you are aware that CO<INF>2</INF> emissions in America today are lower than they have been for 20 years? America does not have to take a backseat to any country in the world. And yet, this President, with his EPA, has passed regulations that make it impossible to build a new coal plant in America and in an amount that makes it commercially feasible to do. So here we are in America, doing a better job than any other country in the world, and yet this President, because of his extreme views, makes it impossible to build a new coal plant.…”