WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, led 16 of their colleagues in filing a bicameral amicus curiae brief in the D.C. Circuit in support of state and industry challengers of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) so-called “Good Neighbor” air rule that targets American power production and burdens states with misguided air regulations.

“Acting well beyond its delegated powers under the [Clean Air Act], EPA’s Rule proposes to remake the energy sector in the affected states toward the Agency’s preferred ends. The Rule is part of the broader joint EPA-White House Strategy that oversteps the Agency’s authority by concurrently developing regulations under three separate environmental statutes. It does so not to meet any of the statutes’ individual ends but to transform the power sector. The group of regulations – including the Rule – are designed to hurriedly rid the U.S. power sector of fossil ‎fuels by sharply increasing the operating costs for fossil fuel-fired power plant operators, forcing the plants’ premature retirement,” the brief reads.

In addition to Boozman and Capito, senators who signed on to brief include John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and John Thune (R-SD).

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA-05) led the brief in the House of Representatives.

Full text of the brief is available here.