Ratepayer Protection Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of the Ratepayer Protection Act, and I want to commend Representative Ed Whitfield for his leadership on this important issue.

We all agree that it is vital that we protect our environment today and for future generations. At the same time, though, we must ensure that we are acting within the law, as well as safeguarding American jobs and the economy.

I have serious concerns that the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed clean power rule will be a vast and unprecedented regulatory overreach, resulting in high energy costs; loss of jobs; and a disruption in the states' ability to generate, transmit, distribute, and use electricity.

As the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) noted earlier, no less than the renowned Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe has testified that ``the EPA lacks the statutory and constitutional authority to adopt its plan.'' He described the proposed clean power plan as a ``power grab'' from the three branches of government.

I am especially concerned, Mr. Chairman, about the impact that the EPA's proposed rule will have on Georgia ratepayers. The State of Georgia already has reduced CO2 emissions by 33 percent between 2005 and 2012 but will have no credit for these reductions. Under the proposed regulation, Georgia would be required to reduce emissions by an additional 44 percent, the sixth largest reduction of any State.

Georgia also will receive no credit towards achieving EPA's mandated State goal for the two nuclear plants that are being constructed.

Ratepayers in Georgia served by Georgia Power, MEAG, and the Electric Membership Corporation would face hundreds of dollars in higher energy bills, which would be especially devastating to rural households in the Second Congressional District, which I represent.

I believe that this legislation takes a commonsense approach that the issue that allows for the completion of judicial review before States are required to comply with the clean power plan.

In addition, the Ratepayer Protection Act provides for a safe harbor if a Governor determines that the proposed rule's implementation will have an adverse impact on ratepayers or on the reliability of this electrical system.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill to ensure that ratepayers as well as our Nation's economy are protected from an overzealous EPA.

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