Yearly Archives: 2016

Led byU.S.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed...

Jim Inhofe in an amicus brief urging the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate EPA’s so-called “Clean Power Plan.” The proposed rules are a clear overreach of regulatory authority and part of the Obama Administration’s plan to shut down coal-fired power plants and continue its war on the poor and those on fixed incomes.

Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith today joined over 200 colleagues in both the House and Senate to file an amicus brief supporting petitions filed by 27 states seeking to overturn the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.

Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV) issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to stop implementation of President Obama’s power plant rules until it considers legal challenges to the plan:

Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV) issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to stop implementation of President Obama’s power plant rules until it considers legal challenges to the plan:

Sen. Cruz (R-Texas) along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and House Energy and Power Sub...

U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., joined a bipartisan group of 34 senators and 171 representatives in signing a friend-of-the-court brief supporting petitioners challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) so-called Clean Power Plan. On Feb. 9, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay on President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, stopping the plan from being enforced while lower courts consider challenges to the plan. The case before the D.C. circuit court is West Virginia v. EPA. The amicus brief argues that the EPA’s expanded regulations usurped Congress’s legislative role, and has placed unlawful and expensive mandates on states and the public. “The EPA’s ‘Clean Power’ Plan is a direct attack against coal and Wyoming,” Enzi said. “I am proud to support states in their lawsuit against the EPA. Coal makes up almost 40 percent of our nation’s energy, and about 40 percent of that coal is produced in Wyoming. America runs on coal and without it the U.S. won’t be able to keep the lights on. We will keep fighting this bad rule on every possible front.” “The Obama administration overstepped legal bounds with its so-called clean power plan,” said Barrasso. “If left unchecked, this multi-billion dollar carbon mandate will crush jobs, devastate coal country and raise energy prices for American families. This amicus brief is just one of the ways Congress is fighting to make sure this rule is eliminated for good.” “I am proud to stand beside Wyoming and the other states and litigants against the EPA’s costly, overreaching rule that would kill jobs in coal country, drive up the price of electricity for all Americans, and increase manufacturing costs for American-made products,” said Lummis. “We will continue fighting this rule legislatively while supporting the states’ case in the courts and using any other means at our disposal to stop this rule dead in its tracks.” Petitioners in West Virginia v. EPA include Wyoming and 26 other states, 24 national trade associations, 37 rural electric cooperatives, and three labor unions representing 900,000 members. A copy of the brief can be found here.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) has issued the following statement on Congressional Republicans’ amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in support of the plaintiffs in State of West Virginia et al v. EP

Private landowners interested in helping maintain or improve Upper Peninsula deer wintering habitat can learn more about the subject, and cost-share programs available to aid in those efforts, at a March 3 meeting the Michigan Department of Natural Res...

The Boston Public Library celebrates the first anniversary of Phase One of the Central Library Renovation this month. It opened its doors to the new second floor of the Johnson building at the Central Library in Copley Square in February 2015. In the p...

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) today led a congressional delegation to Flint, Mich., and spoke at a press conference following a series of on-the-ground meetings focusing on the ongoing Flint water crisis. A full transcript of his remarks, as delivered...

Gov. Rick Snyder issued the following statement regarding today’s final passage of his proposed $30 million plan to help cover a portion of Flint residents’ water bills

Congressman Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (Ga-01) released the following statement today regarding the Supreme Court’s decision to halt a controversial energy rule proposed in the Obama Administration’s climate agenda:

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson signed an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court” brief in support of 27 states that challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule on existing power plants. The Clean Power Plant rule was recently stayed by ...

Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, Davis, Yuba City) announced his intention to introduce legislation in the House of Representatives that would address California’s prolonged drought. The bill, which mirrors legislation introduced by Senator F...

The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs today announced that during the fourth quarter of 2015, it issued Notices of Violation to 40 home improvement contractors, seeking $481,477 in consumer restitution and civil penalties.

U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) visited Flint, Michigan with Rep. Dan Kildee and other Congressmembers to meet with residents and local business owners affected by the city’s ongoing water crisis. Rep. Peters, who spent much of his childhood in...

The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (the Network) along with its partners and allies, was invited to testify today before the New Jersey Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee on the public health consequences of water qu...

Aiming to be a leader in clean energy access, utility regulators in Maryland today voted to advance a set of forward-thinking proposed policies that will help remove barriers to renewable energy under the state’s new community solar initiative. The M...

Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin today announced the approval of a grant through the Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP) to support Petra Community Housing to perform an environmental assessment in Phoenixville.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced that former Augusta Township Deputy Treasurer Brendan Humeniak has been sentenced to 18 months probation, and ordered to pay over $8,900.00 in restitution to the Township, after pleading guilty as...

Congresswoman Niki Tsongas announced today that Third District communities Fitchburg, Haverhill, Lawrence and Lowell will receive federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to support housing rehabilitation, public service projects and local inf...

Rhode Island received $9.68 million from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund program to help protect homeowners from foreclosure and assist communities still recovering from the housing crisis. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who voted in favor of the legislation that authorized this funding and helpedconvince the Treasury Department to assist homeowners and communities in states like Rhode Island, released the following statement on the award:

Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley announced that Oregon would receive over $36 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury to assist homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure. Today’s announcement from the Treasury Department includes an opportunity for the state of Oregon to apply for an additional $110 million to address housing needs in the state. Senator Merkley has been instrumental in advocating for additional funding to address the foreclosure crisis that has rocked Oregon since the Great Recession and called on the Treasury Department to release this funding

A man is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow on charges of committing burglaries of over 30 homes of female college students that he found by using Instagram. Arturo Galvan, 44, Menifee, is charged with 33 felony counts of first degree residential bu...

U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy (FL-18) sent the following letter to leadership in the Florida Legislature in support of legislation allocating Amendment 1 Land Acquisition Trust Fund dollars for Everglades restoration projects that will benefit ...

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) today led a congressional delegation to Flint, Mich., to hear directly from residents and local-area business owners affected by the city’s ongoing water crisis. While on the ground in Flint, Members of Congress also re...

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel announced today the launch of the Delaware Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) online checkbook on OhioCheckbook.com. In December 2014, Treasurer Mandel launched OhioCheckbook.com, which sets a new national standard ...

Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District announced that the U.S. Treasury Department will provide Nevada an additional $8,885,641 to aid residents hit hardest by the economic and housing market downturn.

U.S. Senators Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today announced that the National Park Service will conduct a special resource study on the home of slain civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers to determine its potential for designation ...