Ranking Member Capito Statement on EPA Final Rule to Implement Methane Tax

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, released the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) final Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) regulation as part of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP) under the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act.

"The Biden Administration is continuing its anti-consumer agenda by implementing the natural gas tax enacted by Democrats in the Inflation Reduction Act. This natural gas tax will inflate prices for consumers and reduce domestic energy production, which will empower our adversaries abroad. American voters firmly have said 'enough,' and rejected Democrats' destructive energy policies last week. I look forward to working with my colleagues and President Trump to repeal this misguided tax early in the next Congress," Ranking Member Capito said.

BACKGROUND:

Ranking Member Capito has continuously expressed concern with the EPA's MERP and how it will increase the tax burden on American energy. In December 2023, Ranking Member Capito joined several of her EPW Republican colleagues in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan outlining major concerns with the agency's proposed 'subpart W' rule on methane emissions reporting, and urged the EPA to reconsider and revise its proposal.

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