Washington, D.C. — At a committee hearing earlier today, Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV) asked a top EPA official why America should put its entire economy at risk by imposing new regulations on power plants, while China and the rest of the world continue to increase their emissions.

The hearing was held so that EPA Assistant Administrator Janet McCabe could testify about the Obama Administration’s plans to reduce carbon emissions from power plants 30% by 2030.

“We don’t live in a vacuum,” said McKinley. “President Obama and former EPA Administrators have said U.S. action alone will not impact carbon emissions. Yet that is exactly what this Administration is doing.”

“Let’s put the effects of Obama’s latest regulation in perspective,” said McKinley. “When 82% of the world’s carbon emissions come from outside the United States, can we really expect that America will experience health benefits and stop climate change by acting alone?”

“China is using more coal than the rest of the world combined, and will increase its emissions 60% by 2030,” said McKinley. “India’s emissions will increase by 50%. Yet we believe it’s worth costing our economy billions of dollars annually, putting people out of work, and increasing electric bills to reduce ours by 30%? It just doesn’t make sense.”

“This experiment will put America at a competitive disadvantage while not making a dent into global emissions,” said McKinley. “No one is following our lead. We’re acting alone.”