WASHINGTON–Arkansas’s congressional delegation advocated for the preservation of states’ rights and a review of the Plains and Eastern Clean Line Project—an energy transmission line that stretches nearly 300 miles across the state—in a meeting with the Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry on Monday.

The latest step in the delegation’s efforts to highlight Clean Line’s attempt to usurp states’ rights, U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) and U.S. Representatives Rick Crawford (AR-01), French Hill (AR-02), Steve Womack (AR-03) and Bruce Westerman (AR-04) laid out a case as to why leaving the states out of the decision-making process sets a dangerous precedent.

The delegation pointed out that when the Obama administration signed an agreement to participate in the Clean Line project in March 2016, after the plan was reviewed and rejected by the Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC), it allowed the federal government to circumvent the will of states.

The delegation provided the following quote after the meeting concluded:

“We thank Secretary Perry for taking the time to meet with us on this pressing matter. We understand the Secretary inherited this agreement, which has all the hallmarks of the Obama administration’s excessive government overreach. While this problem was not caused by the Trump administration, Secretary Perry indicated that he is committed to a thorough review of how this project was allowed to advance. We stand ready to provide Secretary Perry with all the information needed to make appropriate decisions as the review process moves forward.”