TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, strongly supports S.J. Res. 37, the Congressional Review Act Resolution of Disapproval for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Utility MACT rule.
At an estimated cost of over $10 billion per year, the Utility MACT rule is one of the most expensive rules ever written by EPA. The rule, and EPA’s rushed implementation timeline, will substantially raise electricity costs for consumers and businesses, force the abrupt closure of dozens of coal-fired power plants, and put new strains on the reliability of the nation’s electrical grid. The significant cost and unrealistic compliance period of the Utility MACT rule will have a major negative impact on job creation and consumer demand for products and services. Despite these significant adverse impacts, the rule will deliver only modest reductions in fine particle emissions––already subject to other regulations––with minimal corresponding health benefits. Further, the rule would barely reduce already decreasing mercury emissions.
S.J. Res. 37 would stop EPA from implementing the Utility MACT rule as currently written and mitigate the adverse reliability and cost impacts that this rule will otherwise have over the next three years and beyond. As the nation faces continued regulatory uncertainty and a struggling economy, Congress should provide the leadership necessary to ensure that electric grid reliability risks are minimized.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports S.J. Res. 37. The Chamber urges you to vote in favor of S.J. Res. 37. The Chamber may consider including votes on, or in relation to, S.J. Res. 37 in our annual How They Voted scorecard.
Sincerely,
R. Bruce Josten
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