Amendments Designed to Help Protect South Carolinians from Increased Electricity Prices and Bring Transparency of Federal Settlements
WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 30, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) issued the following statements after introducing two additional amendments to the Senate’s Budget Resolution. Amendment 690 is designed to protect South Carolinians from huge electricity price increases caused by proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations and Amendment 847 seeks to bring a new level of transparency and accountability to legal settlements with federal agencies. Both amendments could be considered as early as this evening. Amendment 690: Protecting South Carolinians from Increased Electricity Prices: “The Obama Administration’s insistence on forcing costly and burdensome regulations on energy producers will cause electricity prices to skyrocket for those who can least afford it, as well as devastate our manufacturing intensive economy. I will keep working with my colleagues in the Senate to stop the EPA’s overreaching and job killing proposals. Despite my opposition to EPA’s proposed regulations, there is no doubt that South Carolina has made early and smart investments in clean, reliable nuclear power, which will soon provide the state with over sixty percent of its electricity. Unfortunately, the EPA wants to punish those states who have invested in nuclear power over other forms of renewable energy like solar and wind. My amendment would simply ensure that the EPA treats all clean energy fairly, and does not attempt to sway the market by picking winners and losers. South Carolinians should not have to pay more for their electricity because Democrats and the EPA are playing politics with the most efficient and reliable source of carbon-free energy available.” Amendment 847: Calling for More Transparency of Federal Settlements Used to Create Agency ‘Slush Funds: “In recent years, the American people have heard about massive multibillion dollar settlements between companies and the federal government, but the real question that remains is where are these funds actually going? It seems that more and more often these settlements are being directed to handpicked special interest groups. Federal agencies and departments have tremendous flexibility to construct legal settlements, and with that flexibility must come transparency. My amendment to the budget resolution will ensure that Congress has increased visibility and oversight on settlement funds. Federal agencies should not be able to operate slush funds set up by the way they construct settlement agreements.” Earlier in the day, Senator Scott’s amendment to provide consumers a clearer look at the costs associated with their health care plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed by a bipartisan vote of 56-44 in the U.S. Senate. The amendment now becomes a part of the Senate’s Budget Resolution, which will be voted on in full tonight or early tomorrow morning.
