Sep. 02, 2021
HARRISBURG – Rep. Ryan Warner (R-Fayette/Westmoreland), a member of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, today joined a majority of his colleagues in approving a joint resolution opposing regulations advanced by Gov. Tom Wolf that would force Pennsylvania into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). He issued the following statement:
“There is no question if Pennsylvania is forced to join this multi-state compact, everyone will see higher energy bills and many of our friends and neighbors who make a living working in the energy industry will lose their jobs. The governor is once again ignoring the ramifications of his decisions and showing how out of touch he is with the people he is supposed to be serving.
“He is also showing – again – his disdain for our Constitution and the legislative process by trying to force membership in RGGI on his own and without the approval of the General Assembly. Every other state involved in RGGI is there because their legislatures approved it.
“This is imposing taxes without the consent of the people. Implementing a tax without the approval of this House and Senate is nothing short of a direct attack on democracy. In this Commonwealth and in the United States of America, laws are not created by bureaucrats and state departments. They are not created by governors. Laws are not created by courts. They are created by the democratically elected people of this Commonwealth.
“In this country, the government doesn’t tell us what to do. We tell it what to do. Entering RGGI this way is illegal, unconstitutional and an insult to our democracy.”
The concurrent resolution passed the committee Thursday by a vote of 17-3. It now goes to the full House for consideration.