Oshkosh, WI – Senator Ron Johnson (WI) made the following statement in opposition to the Utility MACT rule announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today:

“I strongly oppose the latest job-killing regulation announced by the White House – the Utility MACT rule. It will drive up electricity rates for all consumers, and increase the cost of any products that depend on electricity – which is just about everything.

“More than sixty percent of Wisconsin’s electric power comes from coal-fired plants.  Eastern Wisconsin is projected to see an increase in electric rates of 22 percent as a result of this rule and the costly Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which would require states to adopt new emissions standards.  While the EPA is billing this as delivering significant health gains through limits on mercury, only $6 million of the claimed benefits come from controlling mercury. The vast majority of the claimed benefits come from limits on particulates.

“In 2008, Mr. Obama said that if he was elected President, electricity rates would ‘necessarily skyrocket’ under his cap and trade policy, and that those who built coal-fired power plants would wind up going bankrupt. Now those promises will come true. The Utility MACT rule promulgated by the EPA today will put many coal-fired plants out of business. This will eliminate thousands of jobs and threaten the reliability of our electrical grid, while delivering very little in the way of health benefits.

“I have introduced the Regulation Moratorium and Job Preservation Act to block precisely this sort of destructive regulation. It would prevent the implementation of rules like this one until the unemployment rate falls below 7.8 percent – the level it was when President Obama was sworn in.”

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