The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to hammer away at the Ozarks. It is slated to move forward with rules governing emissions from existing power plants, clearly targeting coal, placing emission levels below realistic levels for coal power plants. The move would likely force premature shutdown of coal power units, which supply 80 percent of Missouri’s power demand and would lead to a spike in our electric bills.
Many of Missouri’s power plants are 65-90 percent cleaner than 20 years ago - a result of more than $1 billion invested to improve plants’ environmental impacts. Apparently though, the Obama Administration does not believe this responsible action to continue providing cleaner, affordable, and reliable power in Missouri is enough. EPA’s pending regulation calls for Missouri to reduce emissions 21 percent by 2030. Further, the agency recommends using Carbon Capture and Sequester technology, which is not yet commercially available, to achieve the regulation’s benchmarks. In fact, the Department of Energy recently pulled its investmentin building the technology at a power plant in Illinois, having already spent $202 million on the project. Even the federal government is pulling its hope for the technology it recommends.
The proposal would require each state to plan its emissions reduction with a tight deadline. States would submit plans to EPA next year to meet preliminary goals in 2020, even though the rule awaits finalization. Such a quick turnaround has energy experts concerned about power supply and reliability. During a May Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation president and CEO told methat deadlines for states to meet standards must be slowed to minimize impact on the electric grid, and he questioned whether alternative sources to coal, such as natural gas, “would be there every day in the cold days of winter.” That has me very concerned for Seventh District Missourians’ quality of life.
The House voted to pass, 247-180, a solution to take the sting out of EPA’s costly regulation.H.R. 2042, the Ratepayer Protection Act, would delay implementation of EPA’s rule until federal courts have an opportunity to decide on the controversial regulation. It also grants states the flexibility to neither submit nor adopt plans to comply with the regulation and would relieve states from fulfilling plans deemed to have a potentially “significant adverse effect” on consumers’ utility rates.
I am a cosponsor of H.R. 2042 and am happy to see it pass. I will continue to fight against out-of-touch EPA regulations to keep southwest Missourians’ lights on at night, heat on in the winter, and air in the summer while keeping electricity affordable for all.
Billy, please start a fight with "out of touch US House members...you are at the top of that list.....Gomert may be ahead of you, but you are close. Where do nails really come from?
ReplyDeleteOf course he will! Otherwise the fossil fuel industry wouldn't get what it paid for. God, what a joke this man is.
ReplyDeleteNext week's constituent letter from Billy Long arrived a week early?!
ReplyDelete"Billy Long-
As some of you have heard I had a little accident just before the Fourth of July. It wasn't all that serious and the ambulance really wasn't needed at all. Talk about government waste! I still don't know why someone called for help. You'd fall over too if one of those bad boys went off at your feet! Luckily my face and eyes was somewhat shielded when it went off. Who wouldn't have trouble standing back up that late at night and when your ears are ringing like hells bells? Luckily the ambulance cost was probably covered by my insurance and IT IS NOT OBAMA CARE thank you.
As all you fireworks fans know some of those Chinese fuses can burn a lot faster than a person would think! So I hope you all will be careful next year, and heal soon from this years mishaps. Luckily the doctors were able to treat my burns and I still have all ten fingers to count with. I really wasn't feeling much pain even before it happened. There could have been a bigger mess on the back deck if I hadn't asked my fried to hold my drink before I lit the fuse. I did need to change my pants though. Good thing I got it dropped before it went off. Who says these modern day M-80s aren't just like the good old days? I can straighten them out on that. Just give my office a call.
Now for the usual government goings on.
Just yesterday my office received an alarming fax from a constituent. He reports that there is a rumor going round that the EPA wants to investigate excessive methane emissions coming from the area of the Capital in Jeff City. This type of wasteful research and job killing regulation has to stop! How dumb do you have to be to wonder about methane gas emissions at the capital? Besides, there is a Republican majority in Jeff City. They won't allow it.
Another Washington DC alarming development I can relate to you. Locally there is a rumor that the unelected first lady intends to impose a tax on all you can eat buffets! I don't need to explain the impact of this on people like me and you do I? What are people thinking? America has the healthiest people of purt near any country here in the United States. Biscuits and gravy are a health food just like deep fried anything.
Remember folks: The sooner we get to electing more people like me and my good friend Louie Gomer is the sooner that we begin to roll back unwanted government interference. People want to be left alone to decide for their own family the things like seat belts, airbags, anti smoking laws in schools, and tornado sirens.
I have also instructed my staff to investigate all about safety glass. One thing I want to know is why the taxpayers pay much more for safety glass than they would pay for regular glass. This is probably another democrat scheme of some kind. As your elected Representative in Washington, I intend to investigate this fully. If there are to be hearings you will know in advance so you can watch me and Louie get after 'em.
Billy Long"
/s