Letter to Senate: Cosponsor Sen. Barasso’s “Defending America’s Affordable Energy and Jobs Act.”

Dear Senator,

FreedomWorks is a leading grassroots organization with over one million members fighting for lower taxes, less government and more freedom. I am writing today to urge you to cosponsor S. 228, “Defending America’s Affordable Energy and Jobs Act.”  Introduced by Sen. Barrasso (R-Wyo.), this bill would stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gases without specific congressional authorization.

It is simply unconstitutional for the EPA to leapfrog Congress and implement job-killing regulations without congressional oversight.  Not only would Sen. Barrasso’s legislation prohibit the EPA from issuing greenhouse gas regulations under the Clean Air Act, but it also would prohibit the agency from using other statutes, such as the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, or the Endangered Species Act. 

The American people and their elected representatives have continuously rejected costly greenhouse gas regulations. Despite the unpopularity of greenhouse gas regulations, the EPA is nevertheless moving forward with new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. As President Obama said “the execution of Cap and Trade through congressional action was only one way of skinning a cat; it was not the only way.” We must seek to limit the excesses of executive power by giving the American people and elected officials a voice in all major regulations imposed on us.

We must stop the EPA’s burdensome regulations to protect jobs and ensure affordable energy for all. I urge you to cosponsor the Defending America’s Affordable Energy and Jobs Act to prohibit the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases for the purpose of addressing climate control.

Sincerely,
 
Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks
[Click here for a pdf version of this letter.]