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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The business climate in Texas has been consistently |
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ranked as the best in the United States, and the state's economy |
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regularly outpaces the rest of the nation; and |
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WHEREAS, Texas produces approximately 60 percent of all |
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chemicals manufactured in the United States, as well as 30 percent |
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of the nation's natural gas and 20 percent of its oil; in addition, |
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the state leads the nation in overall electricity production, and |
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its competitive wholesale power market is among the most robust and |
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demand-responsive in the country; and |
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WHEREAS, The manufacturing sector contributes $96 billion |
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annually to the Texas economy and employs more than one million |
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Texans at some of the highest salaries in the state; the continued |
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economic health of the state is dependent on this vital sector, and |
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Texas is competing globally to protect existing business investment |
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and attract new jobs; and |
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WHEREAS, Texas has not been immune to the global economic |
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recession; over the past two years, some manufacturers have shut |
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down and there have been significant job losses; yet in spite of |
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this challenging business climate, the Environmental Protection |
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Agency has moved forward with the regulation of greenhouse gas |
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emissions from stationary sources such as refineries, chemical |
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plants, power plants, and other commercial establishments; and |
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WHEREAS, The EPA claims that greenhouse gas emissions are air |
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pollutants under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, but that act |
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was designed to regulate conventional pollutants, such as ozone and |
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particulate matter, that create local air quality problems, and not |
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unconventional pollutants, such as greenhouse gases, which are |
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found in essentially equal concentrations around the globe; in |
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formulating its plan to regulate greenhouse gases, the EPA failed |
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to identify cost-effective technology to meet the demands of such |
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regulation and instead invoked the legal doctrine of "absurd |
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results," essentially admitting that implementing the new rules |
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would overwhelm the administrative capabilities of state |
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permitting authorities and the agency itself; and |
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WHEREAS, Congress and the scientific community continue to |
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engage in vigorous, legitimate, and substantive debate regarding |
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the regulation of greenhouse gases; meanwhile, the EPA has acted on |
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its own to institute a backdoor regulatory regime, an abuse of power |
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with serious implications; these regulations are projected to cost |
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Texas more than 300,000 jobs because of increased energy prices, |
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compliance with required greenhouse gas permit conditions, and |
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greater competition from overseas manufacturers that have lower |
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energy costs; furthermore, as it has communicated to the EPA, the |
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State of Texas does not have the legal authority to regulate |
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greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources in the manner |
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proposed by the EPA; and |
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WHEREAS, The EPA's regulation of greenhouse gas emissions |
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from stationary sources will prove highly detrimental to the |
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manufacturing and energy sectors in an already struggling economy |
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and will cause additional job losses that the nation can ill afford; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to take |
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such actions as are necessary to prevent the Environmental |
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Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from |
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stationary sources; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the EPA administrator, to the president of the Senate and speaker of |
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the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to |
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all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request |
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that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |