Affordable Reliable Energy Bill to protect families from higher energy bills, prevent electricity blackouts & ensure EPA mandates are realistic

Obama blowing wind about windmills

U.S. Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton helped introduce the Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act (ARENA), bipartisan legislation to ensure reliable and affordable energy, curb federal overreach and make job protection, creation and economy a priority.

"The Obama climate plan is all pain and no gain. It raises costs and destroys jobs, but it doesn’t truly impact the global climate. That’s according to the EPA’s own estimates. This bipartisan bill will protect families from higher energy bills, prevent electricity blackouts and ensure that possible EPA mandates are based on a realistic review of the available technology. It will also protect states that exercise their ability under the law to say “no” when the EPA pressures them to impose state-level mandates. I urge support for these commonsense reforms,” Boozman said.

"The EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas rules would have a direct and devastating impact in Arkansas and across the country. This bill pushes back against these new standards and it provides states with the flexibility to opt out of these standards if their rates are projected to increase under them. It also rightly requires the EPA to recognize the important differences between our many energy sources, ensuring Arkansas’s lignite coal and our coal-fired power plants aren’t unfairly penalized. I will continue to work with my colleagues to fight back against President Obama’s EPA and to ensure Arkansans continue to have access to affordable, low-cost energy sources,” Cotton said.

The EPA carbon emissions mandates target Arkansas for cuts stricter than 44 other states. Arkansas has five coal power plants, including some of the newest and most modern facilities in the country. These coal plants provide more than half of our state’s electricity. Our utilities are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to make these plants some of cleanest coal plants in the world, but these EPA mandates drive up the costs even further.