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Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Vice Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, sent a letter to President Obama today with deep concerns about his administration’s new climate change strategy.
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June 27, 2013
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
At a time when the American people demand reliable and affordable energy options and
American businesses need regulatory certainty in order to prosper and hire, we have strong
concerns about the climate change mitigation strategy that you have proposed.
While we agree that there is a need for new energy solutions, we do not agree with your
approach. Instead of the top-down regulatory regime that your Administration has proposed,
which will have negative impacts on the economy, we should look for better approaches that
work for all Americans. Republican governors have continued to lead on domestic energy
innovation and we released An Energy Blueprint for America: Policy Solutions for a New Energy
Economy demonstrating that the states are the ones best able to decide and debate the path
forward on energy.
The importance of fuel diversity in Americas energy portfolio is paramount and your proposal
will effectively impede the use of coal for our electricity needs. Your proposal also suggests
singling out the oil and natural gas industry for punitive tax treatment. Further, utilities are
currently grappling with complying with a series of other environmental regulations previously
promulgated by your Administration. We encourage a more judicious approach so that our
energy providers can serve the public in a way that is both environmentally, but also
economically, sustainable.
The Clean Air Act wasnt designed to mitigate climate change. For example, many of our states rely on coal for their electricity generation and these regulations would impose a major
transformation of our economy that has never been proposed in the history of the Clean Air
Act. The foundation of the Clean Air Act is environmental federalism, and we would request
that governors have a seat at the table in determining the pathway forward in reducing carbon
emissions. Before your Administration prepares to execute the regulations set forth in your
plan, governors respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss the impact that these proposed
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policies will have on our states ability to create and sustain jobs. We appreciate your consideration of our request.
We hope your Administration will consider our states individual circumstances, and we look forward to discussing our concerns as well as our solutions, such as those featured in our Energy
Blueprint for America, with you.
Sincerely,
Governor Scott Walker
Wisconsin
Governor Bobby Jindal
Louisiana
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