Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. PERRY. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment will prevent funds from being used to expand the EPA authority pursuant to section 115 of the Clean Air Act.

The Clean Air Act, which has served us well since 1973, hasn't needed to be expanded, it has been used over and over again to make sure that we clean up our act.

Section 115 of the Clean Air Act allows the EPA to mandate State emission levels to whatever amount the Agency deems appropriate if they find two things. Listen to that again. The Clean Air Act, section 115, allows the EPA--the Federal Government--to mandate all 50 of our States' emission levels to whatever amount the Agency deems appropriate--whatever amount--if they find two things. This has been there since 1973. It hasn't been relevant, but it is now. If the EPA finds that U.S. emissions endanger a foreign nation and the endangered nation has a reciprocal agreement to prevent or control emissions in their own nation.

Now, where that comes into play is the Paris climate agreement. It was just signed, and even though it is not a treaty, because we have the Clean Air Act and section 115, it is now operative or potentially operative.

Many believe and have argued that the U.N. Paris climate agreement meets these requirements and, once again, would allow the Federal Government to mandate our State emission levels to whatever amount the agency deems appropriate, period.

The President has proven time and time again that he has no problem circumventing Congress and working unilaterally to achieve his policy priorities. I suspect since he is in favor of the Paris climate agreement, that this is one of his policies.

With the Clean Power Plan caught up in the courts as the President's administration comes to an end, there is a serious concern and a legitimate concern that he will act unilaterally to cement his environmental legacy by enforcing section 114 in this way.

This amendment would block this attempt to delegate nearly unlimited power and authority over the energy sector in each one of our States to 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.

I know the President has got 5, 6 months left to go, and he would like to get as many regulations on the books as possible. We simply cannot let this happen, and we cannot leave it to chance.

I would urge my colleagues to an affirmative vote on this amendment.
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Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, this is not to deny climate change. This is about authority. Whose authority? The United States and the individual States don't need foreign governments through the Federal administration telling us, telling them how to run their railroads and their businesses and how much they regulate their own clean air pursuant to the 1973 Clean Air Act. That is why we have the Federal Government, and that is why it collaborates with the State.

This agreement is not a treaty ratified by the United States Senate. This is an agreement between individuals that potentially gives the power to the Federal Government to regulate in an unlimited fashion every one of our States.

No one in the States signed up for this. No one in the United States Senate voted on this. This is an agreement between individuals, and it should not be left to stand in this fashion.

This amendment just says that we are going to follow the Clean Air Act, passed in 1973, just like we have been. Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed for the States. It has changed between individuals in this administration and people all around the globe that wish to limit the United States' productivity through regulation.

That is why this amendment is important, and that is why I hope Members will support it.

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Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, no one denies that the 1973 Clean Air Act isn't law. No one denies that. But what we are pointing out is that, with the Paris accord, it activates section 115 in a way never perceived that to happen in 1973 when the law was passed. They didn't think that other governments were going to control the United States State by State by State. But that is indeed what can happen here--and probably what will happen here.

Pursuant to the agenda of the administration to reduce CO2 produced by United States by 80 percent, I know that the air was dirtier in 1973, as you said, when you were in high school or what have you, but what this is going to do is take us back to the 1900s, before the time of cars and X-rays and refrigerators and everything that makes a 21st century life livable for us. That is what this is going to do, if we allow the President's agenda to role forward with the Paris climate accord enshrined and then enacted through the Clean Air Act and section 115.

All this amendment wishes to do and seeks to do is make sure that that statute isn't enacted, per the Paris climate agreement--not a treaty, an agreement--between individuals, not between our countries

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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