Washington, DC - Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, issued the following statement today upon the D.C. Circuit Court decision to expedite legal review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) carbon regulations but to deny a stay of the regulations until that legal review is complete:

“Today’s decision to expedite the legal review of the Obama administration's electricity regulations indicates that the court agrees that it is important to review the rules quickly. As the Chamber and its partners have argued all along, the rule is already hurting American businesses. The Court's decision to deny the stay motion is about procedure. We are among the nearly 150 parties that have united to ask the Court to overturn EPA’s plan, including a majority of states and broad cross-section of business, consumer, and labor groups. We look forward to presenting our arguments to the Court as part of an expedited review process, and we will continue our efforts to halt the EPA’s unprecedented effort to restructure the American economy.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, joined by over a dozen business groups, in October 2015 filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act—an unprecedented takeover of the electricity sector. Because the rule is already causing irreparable harm to businesses and communities across the country, the Chamber also asked the D.C. Circuit to stay implementation of the rule until judicial review has been completed. To see the court filings, please click here.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.