Washington D.C. – Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today released the following statement after the president announced the EPA’s final rule to regulate emissions from U.S. power plants. The final rule goes a step further than drafts issued in 2013 and last summer, mandating power plants cut an average of 32 percent of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. The rule is estimated to cost Americans $8.4 billion annually, making it one of the most costly rules of all time.

Chairman Smith: “Today the Obama administration ignored the outcry from stakeholders and the American public in issuing the final rule on its Power Plan. The Obama administration continues to force costly and unnecessary regulations on hardworking American families. The Clean Air Act was never intended to regulate carbon. Yet the president and his Environmental Protection Agency are sidestepping Congress to push their extreme environmental agenda. The final plan released today will shut down power plants across the country, increase electricity prices and cost thousands of Americans their jobs. And my home state of Texas would be one of the hardest hit. This rule goes well beyond the regulation of power plants, even reaching down into Americans’ homes to control electricity use. Higher energy prices means the price of everything will increase, and low-income families already struggling to make ends meet will be among those most burdened by this costly rule.”