Political Quotes

“Mr. President, at the end of this month, the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments in the case of West Virginia v. EPA, in which the Justices will consider the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The stakes could not be higher. This case will have lasting impacts in Maryland, the Nation, and the planet. As we follow the science and work to mitigate the damaging impacts of climate change, it is imperative that the Court respect EPA's authority, which Congress granted, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions to protect public health and the environment. I would like to take a moment to consider where we are and how we got here. At issue in the case is the question of whether EPA acted outside of its statutory authority when it promulgated in 2015 the Clean Power Plan, the CPP, which established guidelines for States to limit carbon dioxide emissions from powerplants. The Trump administration repealed the CPP and issued in its place the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which eliminated or deferred the guidelines. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit vacated the Affordable Clean Energy rule as arbitrary and capricious. One of the challengers, North American Coal Corporation, challenged how broad the EPA's authority is to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, the Clean Power Plan was never implemented.…”