Sierra Club Warns Vulnerable Senators Against Opposing President Obama On Clean Power

Ahead of the Paris environmental conference, the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization, Sierra Club, is urging vulnerable senators to support President Obama’s climate rule for power plants, warning that the rule is popular among voters who are heading to the polls next year.
The group polled voters in half a dozen states about the Clean Power Plan, a rule designed to cut carbon pollution from power plants, and found generally positive reviews among registered voters.
The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, found majority support for the plan in Maine, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia and Iowa. It said voters in those states generally prefer the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to write environmental rules rather than members of Congress.
Four Republicans from those states are seeking reelection in 2016: Blunt (Mo.),  Kirk (Ill.), Portman (Ohio) and Grassley (Iowa), with Kirk and Portman seen as vulnerable.
Senator Kirk has voiced support for the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that was introduced last month by McConnell (R-Ky.) and  Capito (R-W.Va) that would overturn the Clean Power Plan. The CRA resolution of disapproval is a controversial legislative tactic that would allow Congress to nullify a final administrative ruling.

The CRA challenge would threaten clean air and climate action in Kirk’s state of Illinois by blocking the Clean Power Plan (CPP) and its steps to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. The CPP would also encourage job growth, such as through the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill, which would allow the state to comply with the CPP while creating an average of 32,000 jobs per year and save consumers $1.6 billion.
Handicappers consider Kirk to be especially vulnerable next year, and environmentalists have looked to challenge him on environmental issues. Portman is also considered a potential Democratic target in 2016. Iowa is an early-voting state in the presidential contest.
Earlier in the year Sierra Club launched a statewide TV ad campaign in Iowa calling out Portman for his votes against public health and clean air in Congress, including by leading the charge in attacks against the Clean Power Plan.
“ Portman voted repeatedly against the health of Ohio families by attacking the Clean Power Plan, the first ever steps to limit carbon pollution from dirty, coal-fired power plants” said Samantha Allen, an Ohio-based organizer with the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “The Clean Power Plan’s efforts to curb carbon pollution will help prevent up to 6,600 deaths and up to 150,000 asthma attacks in children every year. Portman needs to stand with his Ohio constituents, not with the polluters that are hurting their health.”
The Senate is set to vote soon on the Congressional Review Act resolutions blocking the Clean Power Plan and other EPA power plant rules. The regulations are unpopular among Republicans, though at least one senator facing a tough reelection — Ayotte (R-N.H.) — has come out in favor of the plan, making her the first Republican Senator to support the landmark policy, which is promoted as a way to curb carbon pollution from power plants, protect vulnerable communities, and galvanize America’s transition to a clean energy economy.
In response, Melinda Pierce, Sierra Club Legislative Director, released the following statement:
“Ayotte’s decision to support the Clean Power Plan should inspire her fellow Republicans in the Senate to stop ignoring the climate crisis and proactively work with the Obama Administration to protect their constituents from the very real dangers of carbon pollution.”
“The Clean Power Plan will help our country move toward a new era of clean, affordable energy that protects the health of our communities, grows our economy, and signals to the rest of the world that the U.S. is serious about combating the climate crisis ahead of the Paris Conference.
“Doctors, scientists, faith leaders, and the majority of the American people have all called for strong, bipartisan action to tackle the challenge of climate disruption. Now it’s time for Senate Republicans to follow Ayotte’s lead and answer that call.”
In a statement, the Sierra Club urged other lawmakers to do so, too.
“Voters from these states have made it crystal clear that they want their senators to support the Clean Power Plan, not coal interests on Capitol Hill,” said Mary Anne Hitt, the director of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.
“Senators in these states have a choice: listen to their constituents back home and support the Clean Power Plan, along with all the public health and clean energy benefits it provides, or side with deep-pocketed polluters in Washington who are attacking it,” the statement continued.
A broad coalition of environmental groups say the Clean Power Plan is critical for reducing carbon emissions and confronting climate change, a major goal of the Obama administration. Its opponents have warned it could raise electricity prices and lead to job losses in the energy industry.
The President’s Clean Power Plan is the centerpiece of the United States carbon reduction proposal to be presented at the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) which convenes the end of this month.
Sierra Club is wielding its considerable grassroots clout to prevent Republican senators from sidetracking President Obama’s climate leadership position as he heads for Paris in three weeks.