Beyer Statement On Supreme Court Ruling In West Virginia V. EPA

Statement

Rep. Don Beyer, co-chair of the Safe Climate Caucus and author of several climate provisions in the House-passed Build Back Better Act, today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's ruling limiting the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to restrict greenhouse gas emissions:

"The Supreme Court is out of control, laying waste to public health and safety protections. From gun safety in Bruen to women's health in Dobbs to today's ruling striking down climate protections, the Court's right-wing majority is hellbent on imposing its reactionary dogma on an unwilling nation, regardless of how many people get hurt.

"As Justice Kagan wrote in her dissent, "the Court strips the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the power Congress gave it to respond to "the most pressing environmental challenge of our time."' The Court failed all of us today, and it is up to Congress to supply the remedy. I continue to urge my colleagues to pass strong, comprehensive legislation to address climate change with all possible haste. So much depends upon Congress taking bold action in this moment.

"Meanwhile, the conservative Court majority's naked judicial activism, their disregard for the will of the people's elected representatives to respond to one of our society's most pressing needs, and their contempt for the Court's own precedents make it clear that the U.S. Supreme Court is a broken institution. The Court must be reformed, and I cosponsored and coauthored legislation, including the Judiciary Act and the Supreme Court Term Limits Act to achieve that end. I will continue pressing my colleagues to take urgent action to solve this problem."

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