Casten Statement on Trump Administration’s ‘Dirty Power Scam’ Rule
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) released the following statement on the Trump Administration rollback of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, a set of policies introduced in 2015 to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. Casten is a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and a co-chair of the New Democrat Coalition Climate Change Task Force.
Casten said, "The Trump Administration's rollback of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) is a major setback to nationwide efforts to transition to a cleaner more efficient power and address climate change. After years of consulting with technical experts, industrial leaders, and state elected officials from both sides of the aisle, the Obama Administration developed the Clean Power Plan, the first and only federal framework for instituting limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants while granting states broad flexibility over their method of compliance. The Clean Power Plan promoted public health and encouraged investments in clean energy and safeguarding our climate.
By undoing the CPP and replacing it with a proposed "Dirty Power Scam," President Trump and Administrator Wheeler have put political point-scoring ahead of the safety of our climate, even though it is clear that a broader transition to clean energy is inevitable. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has already admitted that their scheme would result in over 1,400 additional premature deaths per year if enacted.
The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent to all, from the devastating flooding we saw this year across the Midwest to last year's record-breaking hurricane season that ravaged the Southeast and Puerto Rico. Our nation needs leadership that is willing to address the climate crisis head on, not bury their heads in the sand. Instead of gutting the Clean Power Plan, the Administration should be enhancing it and taking more actions across all sectors to reduce our carbon footprint, protect our planet, and, in doing so, transform and grow our economy."