The EPA’s regulatory war against Texas would be temporarily blocked under an amendment to the Interior and Environment Appropriations Act of 2012 by Congressman John Carter (R-TX31).
“Texas should not be subject to EPA discriminatory action solely designed to punish a politically conservative state,” says Carter. “This rule promises job losses, higher electric bills, and potential power shortages, all for no health benefits according to EPA's own modeling which shows we're not contributing to downstate air quality degradation.”
The Carter amendment would block any funds being used by the EPA for the agency’s proposed Cross State Air Pollution Rule against states that were not identified by the EPA in 2010. The rule will impose harsh new emissions standards on those identified states for air pollution that travels across state lines.
Texas was not included in the 2010 list as EPA research revealed emissions from the Lone Star state did not significantly impact other states. But the agency added Texas to the list without notice when the final rule was issued, denying Texans the right of review and comment granted to the other targeted states, and leaving Texas power generators with only months to comply with the costly new rules before they become effective in 2012. The regulatory change is estimated to drive up consumer electric bills by 12% , and cost over 200,000 jobs per year nationwide.
