Daines bill would block EPA climate regs

Rep. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) has introduced a bill to block implementation of the Obama administration’s proposed regulations to cut power plants’ carbon emissions.

The Senate candidate said the regulations would threaten jobs in his state, which has a prominent coal industry. 

{mosads}”Montanans rely on coal to provide good, high-paying jobs, deliver affordable electricity to our families and to fund our schools, libraries and parks. President Obama’s war on coal is a war on Montana’s economy, workers and families,” Daines said.

Under Daines’s measure, the EPA regulations could not take effect unless the Labor Department certifies that the rules would not cost jobs, the Congressional Budget Office finds that the regulations would not result in a lower gross domestic product and agencies verify that electricity costs and availability would not change.

Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), one of the most vulnerable incumbents this election cycle, also introduced a bill last week that would block the EPA regulations.