Sen. Rounds Issues Statement on Executive Order on Clean Power Plan

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and chairman of the EPW subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Oversight, issued the following statement on President Trump's executive order to limit the Clean Power Plan rule:

"Over the past eight years, American innovation, job creation and economic growth have been smothered by heavy-handed federal regulations imposed by unelected bureaucrats.

"I'm pleased that the new administration is taking swift action to undo a number of overly burdensome regulations, including the Clean Power Plan, which was halted by the Supreme Court last year after more than two dozen states filed petitions to stop its implementation.

"We all want clean air and water, but it is possible to achieve that goal without imposing costly regulations on American businesses."

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The executive order will direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend, revise or rescind four actions related to the Clean Power Plan that would stifle the American energy industry, allowing the EPA to focus on its primary mission of protecting our air and water. The executive order does the following:

* Calls for an immediate re-evaluation of the Clean Power Plan;

* Lifts the ban on federal leasing for coal production;

* Lifts restrictions on the production of oil, natural gas, clean coal and shale energy; and

* Empowers states and local units of government to decide what is best for their communities.

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