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McCaskill’s anti-coal record on full display with MACT vote

June 20, 2012

Claire McCaskill has once again sided with the Obama administration instead of Missouri families and job-creators with her vote this morning in favor of the coal-killing MACT rule.

McCaskill’s vote comes less than a month after promising to “hold the line on the EPA” on coal issues.

But instead of “holding the line,” McCaskill voted in favor of the rule, which would cripple the coal industry, causing dozens of coal-fired power plants to close, killing tens of thousands of jobs, and costing more than $9 billion to implement.  It would have an especially devastating effect on Missouri, a state which receives more than 80% of its electricity from coal.

“This vote is a yet another reminder that Claire McCaskill has spent the last 3 years as a foot soldier for Barack Obama and his reckless liberal agenda.  In fact, she has voted with Obama 95% of the time since 2010” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party.  “McCaskill’s anti-energy vote will prove devastating for Missouri families, farmers, and job creators, and it is beyond the pale, even for someone who recently admitted that she ‘hates coal.’  In November, Missourians will hold McCaskill accountable for her anti-Missouri record.”

McCaskill’s vote is just the latest example of her support for the worst elements of Barack Obama’s admittedly anti-coal agenda.  In fact, in 2010, McCaskill declared, “I’m no fan of coal… I hate coal.”

Less than a year ago, McCaskill voted with Obama to allow the EPA to implement the costly Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which would severely impact several coal-fired power plants in Missouri.

McCaskill has also been a longtime supporter of Obama’s cap-and-trade scheme, which Obama himself has admitted would cause electricity rates to “necessarily skyrocket.”

In 2008, McCaskill told the St. Joseph News-Press, “I am supportive of a cap-and-trade system to help address the world’s climate change problems…” (St. Joseph News-Press, April 30, 2008)  She also voted to move forward with the Boxer Amendment that would “cap greenhouse gas emissions nationwide” and later bragged on video about the Senate vote, saying “we had a lot of votes the first time out” and assuring the audience: “we’ll get there.”

In 2010 and 2011, McCaskill voted to allow the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide, which has described as a “backdoor cap-and-trade program.”