FreedomWorks Live Blog: Energy and Power Committee Hearing

There is an important hearing on Capitol Hill today entitled, “EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Regulations and Their Effects on American Jobs”.  Congressional Republicans are investigating the Environmental Protection Agency’s costly mandates, hazardous regulations and its corrosive impact on our economy and jobs. 

Watch this blog at 1:00 PM today as we will update you as the hearing progresses.

Also, make sure you keep the pressure on your representatives to halt the EPA’s destructive regulations and bureaucratic power grab by submitting our call to action:

http://action.freedomworks.org/4118/dont-let-obama-administration-get-aw

Representative Rush (D-IL), just went on a roughly 5 minute diatribe on how climate change is basically solidified scientific law and how we need to weigh the need for climate change regulations with their economic consequences.  He also produced some “facts” on how energy costs have actually been declining.  Hmmm….he must not have driven past a gas station recently or checked his energy bills.

Representative Waxman unhinged and defiant, discussed the potential irreversible and catastrophic  effects of global climate change.  He showed how this past year has been the warmest on record and floods have engulfed states like Arkansas, etc.  Rep. Waxman also  expressed deep concerns that employees of the EPA were testifying on the panel.  Transparency in government must be one of his pet peeves.

Representative Shimkus (R-IL) discussed how the Waman-Markey cap and trade bill did not have any hearings on its economic impact and costs of regulations.  In other words it was rammed through like most of the 111th Congress’ legislation.  Rep. Shimkus reiterated that this was a hearing on the economic impacts of EPA regulations, not a discussion of climate change.

There will be a 10-15 minute recess.  Democrats seem ot be a little confused over who is testifying on their behalf.  The panel discussion will begin shortly after the break.  Stay tuned and remember to keep the pressure on your elected representatives by submitting our call to action:

http://action.freedomworks.org/4118/dont-let-obama-administration-get-aw

The committee hearing has resumed.  Stay tuned as we continue to send you updates as it it progresses further:

http://action.freedomworks.org/4118/dont-let-obama-administration-get-aw

Panel 1: 

Mike Carey, Ohio Coal Association indicated that the Clean Air Act never promulgated the EPA power to regulate CO2 emissions.  He feels that the Obama administration, through the EPA, is waging a war on the coal industry.

Paul Cicio, Industrial Energy Consumers of America showed how the United States is drastically becoming less competive and  rapidly losing manufacturing jobs. The United States, he noted, has lost over 5 million manufacturing jobs. He made an insightful point on how the energy and manufacturing sectors invest a ton of resources into energy efficiency and clean environment regulations.  More EPA regulations and arbitrary central planning will have ruinous economic effects.

Mr. Hugh A. Joyce, James River Air Conditioning Company, Inc asked that congress reduce the burdensome and onerous regulations unilaterally imposed by the EPA.  This will infuse more competition into the economy and allow for job creation to flourish.

Make sure you keep the pressure on your representatives to halt the EPA’s destructive regulations and bureaucratic power grab by submitting our call to action:

http://action.freedomworks.org/4118/dont-let-obama-administration-get-aw

Mr. Forrest McConnell, National Automobile Dealers Association asked for a return to the true nature of the rule of law.  He stated that we need to return to a uniform standard of regulations equally applicable to all.  Regulatory burden needs to be reduced and we should not have three competing green house gas emission policies.

 Mr. W. David Montgomery, Charles River Associates indicated that electricity rates would increase 35-40 percent and would reduce average worker/individual compensation by $700 per year.  He stated that command and control bureaucrats have basically no understanding of net economic impact of there regulations.  Green jobs are basically a fallacy, but if they are mandated by politicians they can hurt the economy immensely by misallocating productive economic resources.

Stay tuned and remember to keep the pressure on your elected representatives by submitting our call to action:

http://action.freedomworks.org/4118/dont-let-obama-administration-get-aw

Professor Dan Reicher, Professor of Law at Stanford exalted smog filled China as a panacea of the green jobs industry.  He also noted that investment in green jobs and technology is necessary if we are to be competitive in the future.  How does mandating inefficient and unwanted technologies increase competition?  He obfuscated the point of the hearings which is to shed light on the impact of the EPA’s draconian and harmful regulations.

When questioned, Professor Reicher just stated that there needs to be a cost-befit analysis of EPA mandates and regulations.  Must have forget that in his testimony.  His examples of countries that have benefitted from environmental regulations are the European Union and of course China.  Last time I checked Spain invested immensely in green jobs and have stringent climate change regulations, but have a nearly 20 percent unemployment rate.  Does that sound like a prosperous flourishing economy to you?

Make sure you keep the pressure on your representatives to halt the EPA’s destructive regulations and bureaucratic power grab by submitting our call to action:

http://action.freedomworks.org/4118/dont-let-obama-administration-get-aw

Representative Griffith (R-VA) makes a good point that China may be investing in green technology, but are also burning vast amounts of coal and are a tremendous polluter.  China may be investing in green technology, but they seem to have an “all of the above energy policy” while basically thwarting any notions of a clean environment that environmentalists opine for.

Make sure you keep the pressure on your representatives to halt the EPA’s destructive regulations and bureaucratic power grab by submitting our call to action:

http://action.freedomworks.org/4118/dont-let-obama-administration-get-aw

Rep. Barton (R-TX), indicated that there is no cost effective technology to reduce CO2 emissions.  This met with basically unanimous consent agreement by the panel of experts.  Even the lone green jobs and EPA regulations proponent , Professor Reicher concurred.

Remember, President Obama said that electricity costs would “necesarily sky rocket”.  Keep the pressure on your representatives to thwart the EPA’s back door cap and trade power grab:

http://action.freedomworks.org/4118/dont-let-obama-administration-get-aw