EPA emissions rules will hit the poor and seniors on fixed incomes especially hard. Heading into winter, concerns remain over tinkering with energy grid.

(Alexandria, Virginia) – The non-partisan 60 Plus Association, touting more than 7.2 million senior supporters nationally, issued a statement today in advance of EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s keynote speech this morning to the Resources for the Future (RFF) Policy Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C., where she will attempt to make the case that EPA’s sweeping new regulations on emissions will produce an economic benefit to average Americans.

Said 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, “The EPA’s stated goal regarding their draconian regulations on power plant emissions is to reduce Americans’ energy options and lower production of our most reliable energy resources.  Their actions will push energy costs higher, and strain the finances of the tens of millions of seniors already living on fixed incomes.

“To tell people on fixed incomes, barely making ends meet, that skyrocketing energy bills are an economic benefit is adding insult to injury. How out of touch can Ms. McCarthy and her friends at the EPA be? Coal is America’s most affordable and reliable source of energy. At a time when seniors on fixed incomes are struggling and need a lifeline, this Administration and EPA throw them an anchor.”

60 Plus recently completed a survey in eight states asking over 5,000 senior voters their opinion regarding new EPA regulations, with over 70% of respondents voicing concern that it would force them to pay higher electric bills. By a wide margin, seniors support candidates for office who oppose the EPA regulations. Results of these surveys can be viewed at 60Plus.org.

Seniors are further concerned that heading into the cold winter months, the EPA is planning to remake the power grid, which could threaten the reliability of the country’s energy supply, a concern supported by 17 current and former public utility commissioners who have sent letters to McCarthy.

Said Martin, “Between their plan to make electricity bills skyrocket, to tinkering with the power grid heading into the chilling winter months, the EPA has shown an arrogance toward the American people and tone-deafness to the concerns of seniors and our most vulnerable.”

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