(DCWatchdog.com) – Democrat US Senator Joe Manchin has declared he will block President Joe Biden’s nominees for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the federal body’s proposed power plant regulations.
Manchin’s declaration came after a New York Times report revealed that under EPA’s proposed new rules, power plants running on coal and gas would be obliged to employ carbon capture technology.
EPA’s new power plant regulations are expected to be announced by the agency’s administrator, Michael Regan, on Thursday, The Daily Caller reports.
It notes that fewer than 20 of the 3,400 power plants in the United States have the necessary technology to comply with the EPA’s upcoming carbon capture rule. The plans would have to adopt the technology by 2040.
US Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has been standing out as a dissenter in the Democratic Party, reacted to the reports in a statement on Wednesday.
“This Administration is determined to advance its radical climate agenda and has made it clear they are hellbent on doing everything in their power to regulate coal and gas-fueled power plants out of existence, no matter the cost to energy security and reliability,” Manchin stated.
“Just last week, before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, every FERC [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission] Commissioner agreed that we cannot eliminate coal today or in the near future if we want to have a reliable electric grid,” the senator added.
Manchin said that if the reports about EPA’s proposal proved true, it would affect almost all US power plants running on fossil fuels, which generate about 60% of the nation’s electricity.
In his words, that would occur “without an adequate plan to replace the lost baseload generation.”
“This piles on top of a broader regulatory agenda being rolled out designed to kill the fossil industry by a thousand cuts,” the West Virginia Democrat noted.
“Neither the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law nor the IRA gave new authority to regulate power plant emission standards. However, I fear that this Administration’s commitment to their extreme ideology overshadows their responsibility to ensure long-lasting energy and economic security, and I will oppose all EPA nominees until they halt their government overreach,” he cautioned further.
The report points out Republicans have been using the Congressional Review Act to frustrate the Biden administration’s rules and regulations.
Manchin has also supported resolutions to reverse the COVID-19 pandemic emergency and the Labor Department’s ESG (“environmental, social and governance”) investing rule.
The US Congress could roll back the expected EPA regulation, but Biden could veto a resolution.
Manchin has voted against Biden nominees more than any other Senate Democrat.
He recently opposed a Department of the Interior nominee because he was worried her potential “political games” would affect energy production.
The West Virginia senator still hasn’t decided whether to support Labor Secretary nominee Julie Su.
The Senate is considering two Biden EPA nominees, and two other spots at the agency are also vacant.
Do you agree with Manchin? Email [email protected] with your opinion. We read all emails and respond to as many as humanly possible. Thank you!
Manchin has a vendetta with all Biden nominees https://t.co/1v8k4DhruT
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 10, 2023
