Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Scott Perry (PA-4) introduced a bill, the Energy Sovereignty Act, this week blocking an attempt to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the ability to bypass Congress and take control of every states’ energy program. Through the U.N. Paris Climate Agreement, the Obama Administration seeks to invoke an obscure provision of the Clean Air Act, Section 115, to mandate that every U.S. state cut its emissions by whatever amount the agency demands. Rep. Perry’s bill would prevent the EPA from expanding its regulatory authority over the energy sector by repealing Section 115.

“The President has proven time and time again that he has no problem circumventing Congress and working unilaterally to achieve his policy priorities. We've already seen him go it alone on immigration, gun control, the Iran Nuclear Deal, and actions to close Guantanamo Bay. Thankfully, various courts rightly have questioned the constitutionality of these actions and have held up his actions on immigration, the EPA Clean Power Plan and the EPA’s Waters of the US rule, which countless small businesses and local governments have told me will destroy jobs.

We all want clean air and a healthy environment. I’ve advocated for removing government barriers to the development of hydropower, which would create thousands of American jobs and provide power to millions of Americans at low cost. It’s only one part of the solution – but it’s much better than this attempt to delegate nearly unlimited power over the energy sector to the unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats at the EPA. Such expansive authority of the EPA would be economically devastating and could threaten the reliability and viability of our Nation’s energy sector.

To justify this federal power grab on the grounds that Congress has been unwilling to address the issue of climate change to the President’s satisfaction is very dangerous. We’re now $19 trillion dollars in debt and the President has never proposed a budget that comes close to balancing. Should that give Congress, a co-equal branch of government, the right to unilaterally start eliminating federal programs?

This assault on our Constitution and states’ rights must be stopped.