Nick Rahall for U.S. Congress

WASHINGTON — A week after President Barack Obama and the federal EPA announced a new rule that would set caps on carbon emissions from existing power plants, U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-.Va., and U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., announced Monday they are introducing bill to stop it.

 

“Last week, the EPA unleashed its latest assault on the jobs and livelihoods of our coal miners,” said Rahall. “The EPA needs to get their head out of the clouds and come back down to Earth where the rest of us must live and work. We don’t need more regulation to solve our energy challenges — we need more innovation.”

 

Rahall and McKinley’s bill, H.R. 4813, which already has 68 co-sponsors, would terminate the new rule for existing power plants, along with the proposed rule for future power plants. In addition, to prevent some sleight of hand maneuver by the EPA, the bill will aim to block the issuance of similar rules for at least the next five years without congressional approval, according to Rahall.

 

“I have fought with our coal miners for years, defending their jobs, promoting their health and safety, and protecting the pension and health care benefits they’ve worked so hard to earn,” Rahall said. “So when someone picks a fight with our coal miners, I put on the gloves. This may be one whale of a fight, but I am not slugging it out alone. Miners and their families, coal community residents, and businesses and families in West Virginia and throughout our country who rely on affordable energy have joined the fight and are making their voices heard.