Hillary Clinton Promises To Defend President Obama Bold New Clean Power Plant Plan

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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is pledging to the American people that she will protect and defend President Obama new clean power plant plan.

In a statement, Clinton said:

The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan is a significant step forward in meeting the urgent threat of climate change. It sets a smart federal standard that gives states the flexibility to choose how to reduce carbon pollution most effectively. And it drives investments in clean energy and energy efficiency, reduces asthma attacks and premature deaths, and promotes a healthier environment and a stronger economy. It’s a good plan, and as President, I’d defend it.

It will need defending. Because Republican doubters and defeatists – including every Republican candidate for president – won’t offer any credible solution. The truth is; they don’t want one. They just keep making the same tired arguments they’ve been making for years. They refuse to accept science. They refuse to believe in American ingenuity and entrepreneurship, even though we’ve seen time and time again that a clean environment and a strong economy go hand-in-hand.

Of course, the Clean Power Plan standards set the floor, not the ceiling. We can and must go further. As President, I will launch a Clean Energy Challenge to give states, cities and rural communities that are ready to lead the tools and resources to succeed. By combining the Clean Power Plan with my Clean Energy Challenge, we’ll achieve two big goals:

We will have half of a billion installed solar panels by the end of my first term in office.

We will generate enough renewable energy to power every home in America within 10 years of my taking office.

As President, I will build on the work of this Administration and make America a clean energy superpower and a global leader in the fight against climate change. That’s a promise.

The President’s plan is going to need to be defended because Republicans are going to mount a vigorous legal challenge to the new rules. The plan could be a game changer that will freeze the construction of coal power plants and spur a boom in wind and solar production.

According to the White House, “In June 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the Clean Power Plan – the first-ever carbon pollution standards for existing power plants that will protect the health of our children and put our nation on the path toward a 30 percent reduction in carbon pollution from the power sector by 2030. Power plants are the largest single source of carbon pollution, accounting for about one-third of all domestic greenhouse gas emissions. The Clean Power Plan will set standards for carbon pollution from power plants, just as we have set limits on power plant emissions of arsenic, mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and soot.”

While Republicans remain beholden to the fossil fuel industry, Hillary Clinton is promising to protect and defend the Obama legacy. Clinton isn’t running away from Obama, and it is encouraging to see her pledge to defend the hard fought for progress of the Obama years.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association