WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today voted in favor of S.J. Res. 24 and S.J. Res. 23, which both passed the Senate, to express disapproval with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan rule. The latest proposal threatens to increase energy costs for Americans with minimal environmental benefits.

“Washington should focus on commonsense policies to make energy cleaner and more affordable rather than adding more cost, red tape and regulations,” Sen. Moran said. “This administration continues to ignore the impact a rule like this has on Americans, and I believe we should work to put in place environmental policies that can both protect our natural resources and safeguard our economy.

Sen. Moran continued, “Kansans would be disproportionately affected because nearly two-thirds of our electricity production comes from coal. Our state’s power providers have made great progress in reducing emissions over the years, but the additional regulations mandated in this rule will result in higher costs without demonstrating much environmental benefit.”

According to a recent National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) study that measures the impact of a 10 and 25 percent electricity price increase on jobs and gross domestic product (GDP) from 2020 to 2040, there is a devastating relationship between higher electricity prices and job losses. Even a 10 percent increase results in 1.2 million jobs lost in 2021 across the country with nearly 500,000 of those lost jobs in rural communities.

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