Rep. Brown: Damaging Supreme Court Decision Guts EPA’s Authority to Fight Climate Change

WASHINGTON — Today, Rep. Shontel M. Brown (OH-11) issued the following statement after the Supreme Court announced its West Virginia v. EPA decision restricting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants:

“Another day, another ruling from the Supreme Court taking us decades in the wrong direction. This latest damaging decision will gut EPA’s ability to protect clean air and water and fight climate change. It will lead to more pollution and, therefore, greater risks to the health and livelihoods of people in Northeast Ohio and beyond. What’s more, at a time when action addressing climate change is at a premium, this decision will kneecap our ability to address harmful power plant emissions. Yet the impact of this decision could extend beyond the EPA, threatening the government’s very ability to regulate everything from workplace safety to banking practices.

“We cannot continue to put the profits of corporations and the fossil fuel industry ahead of the wellbeing of our fellow Americans and the future of our children. I will fight tooth and nail with my colleagues in Congress to protect our families and communities and build a better, safer future for the next generation.”

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