Johnson to hold hearing on Obama’s climate change ‘power grab’

Wisconsiin Watchdog ^ | 11-14-15 | M. D. Kittle

[afraidfortherepublic]

MADISON, Wisconsin — President Obama’s climate change crusade is expected to hit the Badger State’s manufacturing base and electricity ratepayers particularly hard.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, has scheduled a field hearing Friday in Stevens Point to shine a light on the Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules, which could kill segments of the manufacturing sector.

“The Impact of Federal Regulations: A Case Study of Recently Issued Rules,” begins at 1 p.m. in the University of Wisconsin-Steven Point’s Dreyfus University Center, 230 Laird Room, 1015 Reserve St., in Stevens Point.

Among the expected witnesses: Delanie M. Breuer, Wisconsin assistant deputy attorney general; Lucas Vebber, director of environmental & energy policy for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce; Jim Holte, president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation; Henry Schienebeck, executive director of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association; Bruce Ramme, vice president-environmental for Wisconsin Energy Corp.; and George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.

The hearing will focus on the EPA’s so-called “waters of the United States” rule that could extend federal control over as much as 92 percent of Wisconsin, and the Obama administration’s proposed carbon dioxide limits on existing power plants. The administration’s latest foray in its war on coal has been branded the “Clean Power Plan.”

Earlier this month, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel joined AG’s from 23 other states in filing a lawsuit against the section of the plan pushing the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions at existing power plants by 32 percent, on average, by 2030.

A left-wing political action committee, funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has reportedly pumped in more than $10 million for ads attacking Schimel and three other attorney generals for daring to file litigation against the EPA’s regs.

Schimel has since described Bloomberg as an “out-of-touch billionaire.”

The EPA has estimated implementing the Clean Power Plan will spur a wide-ranging $12 billion to $34 billion in health benefits by 2030, generating $20 billion in monetized climate benefits.

Under the rule, Wisconsin would have to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by at least 34 percent — the sixth-highest rate in the nation. The Badger State already has reduced its carbon output by 20 percent, but it’s not clear whether those reductions would be included in the expensively aggressive EPA rule.

In late October, Johnson expressed his disappointment in the EPA’s use of “executive overreach to harm Wisconsin families and businesses by putting at risk our ability to have affordable, dependable and reliable energy.”

“As he promised as a candidate, President Obama’s latest regulatory overreach from the EPA would certainly cause electricity prices to skyrocket in Wisconsin and across the country. The best estimate right now is that his proposed plan would end up costing Americans $7,000 per person,” the senator said.

Earlier this year, the MacIver Institute conducted a study with The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University that estimated the EPA plan would cost $920 million in Wisconsin by 2030. Disposable income would drop by nearly $2 billion as a result of significant increases in energy costs. Electricity rates would soar 14 percent, according to another study.

Last month, a federal appeals court stayed implementation of the waters of the United States rule, which would wrest regulatory authority of waterways from the states and turn the power over to the federal government.

Johnson has called the rule an “unconscionable power grab.”

“We can all agree on reasonable regulations that prevent the pollution of Lake Michigan or the rivers of our state, and we should all celebrate the Clean Water Act’s success in reducing pollution in lakes and streams,” the senator said in a statement earlier this month. “That success should not be used as an excuse for the EPA to unilaterally claim control over all land within 1,500 feet of any backyard puddle or former high-water mark.”

[afraidfortherepublic]

REGULATION NATION: U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson conducts a field hearing Friday in Stevens Point on two controversial EPA rules driven by the Obama administration’s climate change crusade.

RELATED: A big financial hit for the Clean Power Plan? Study claims price hike in 47 states

[afraidfortherepublic]

Ron Johonson holds power grab hearing on epa regulations in Stevens Point.

FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.

[smartyaz]

[DaveA37]

Perhaps a newly elected Donald Trump will eliminate the EPA and their idiotic regulations which are strangling this nation. One can only hope.

Real climate change has been with us forever and unless the world evaporates, I anticipate it will be here long after the naysayers are dead and gone.

[smartyaz]

[maddog55]

Awesome.. another hearing. We all know how effective hearings are.

[ronnie raygun]

Since the end to this imposters riegn is near he and his criminals are going to go for the jackpot and take as much with them as possible

[BobL]

Interesting that Walker’s name doesn’t show up. Probably too busy with the GOPe trying to help figure out ways to take down Trump.