Hoeven Helps Introduce Legislation Clarifying President Cannot Declare Climate Change Emergency

Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven

04.05.22

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today joined Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, in introducing legislation to clarify that the president does not have the authority to unilaterally declare a national emergency on the premise of climate change. The Real Emergencies Act would reaffirm that the president is prohibited from using the three primary statutory authorities available to him – the National Emergencies Act, the Stafford Act, and section 319 of the Public Health Service Act – to declare a national emergency solely on the basis of climate change.

“Consumers are paying record energy prices because the Biden administration is taking the wrong approach to energy development for our nation and continues to put up roadblocks for our domestic energy producers,” said Hoeven. “We introduced the Real Emergencies Act to stop the president from continuing to target our energy industry, and prevent him from weaponizing national emergency powers to block oil and gas development. This is part of our efforts to push back on the Biden administration and instead empower domestic energy production so that we can utilize America’s abundant oil and natural gas reserves.”

In addition to Hoeven and Capito, the legislation was introduced by Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and James Lankford (R-Okla.).

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