Yesterday Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) sent a letter to his House colleagues responding to comments that the Environmental Protection Agency was overstepping its bounds in regulating carbon. Rep. Connolly’s articulate letter clearly shows that EPA has the legal authority to regulate carbon pollution, and that the EPA has had such authority since the Clean Air Act was first written in 1970. Read Representative Connolly’s letter here.
He also shows that concern about climate change dates back to the Clean Air Act debates in 1970.
Recently, Representative Fred Upton (R-MI), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, has joined with a polluter front-group, the Koch Industries-backed Americans For Prosperity (AFP), to claim that the EPA’s efforts are an “an unconstitutional power grab” that will “kill millions of jobs.” Connolly’s letter illustrates that not only is the EPA acting within its legal authority, but also that it is merely doing what it is obligated to do according to the science and the Supreme Court.
As Representative Connolly explains, reducing carbon emissions will not only help the environment, but will also serve as a major incentive for industry to curb our oil addiction and reduce our dependence on dirty fuels. Doing so will make the U.S. a major player in the 21st century race for new energy sources, including renewable, wind, and solar energy that will never run out or need to be imported.