FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Denis Dison, NRDC Action Fund, 202-280-0018, [email protected],
***Listen to the ad below***
HARRISBURG (April 29, 2016) – The NRDC Action Fund today is launching a five-figure radio ad criticizing Pennsylvania lawmakers John Yudichak and John Blake for voting to delay Governor Tom Wolf’s work on a state Clean Power Plan, which aims to clean up the air and boost clean energy jobs.
“Don’t they get that clean energy would be good for our economy and create lots of new jobs?” one narrator says in the radio ad. Another narrator responds, “Yeah, and what about improving our health… reducing pollution will make the air cleaner… and help thousands of kids in the state who suffer from asthma.”
The 60-second radio ad will run from April 29 to May 8 in the Scranton and Wilkes Barre markets. It calls on Yudichak and Blake, key state senators who represent the 14th and 22nd districts in those areas, to stop putting polluters ahead of Pennsylvania children.
“It’s disappointing that senators Yudichak and Blake are turning their back on Governor Wolf’s plans to reduce harmful carbon pollution and accelerate the transition to clean energy,” said Mark Szybist of the NRDC Action Fund and a native of Williamsport, PA. “Senators Yudichak and Blake should support, not try to sidetrack, the governor’s vital work—backed by 82 percent of Pennsylvanians—to develop a state Clean Power Plan that best suits our communities and economy. And they can do so by opposing SB 1195 now before the full Senate.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized the Clean Power Plan, which sets the first-ever limits on power plant carbon pollution, a key driver of climate change. Under the plan, states can create their own customized plans to meet those limits, or EPA may impose a standard, potentially less flexible, federal plan upon them.
On April 12, the state Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee approved SB 1195, with Yudichak and Blake voting in favor. It could come up for a full Senate vote soon.
SB 1195 amends a 2014 state law that already gives the General Assembly at least 100 days to review—and comment on –a state Clean Power Plan. After that the state can revise its plan and the General Assembly can again review it before it’s submitted to the EPA for approval.
SB 1195 nearly doubles the review period and extends the post-feedback legislative review so long the state may be unable to submit a plan to the EPA.
“SB 1195 is a clear assault on the Clean Power Plan and Pennsylvania’s ability to chart its best course to cut harmful pollution, expand renewable energy and create good-paying jobs,” said Szybist.
Click here to listen to the NRDC Action Fund radio ad: https://app.box.com/s/eeihg24vcfp9jvmw9vyx55e6zs2nuc9p
The text of the ad follows:
SFX: Sound of a coffee shop. Ruffle of newspaper.
MAN: Wow… I can’t believe that.
WOMAN: What?
MAN: State Senators John Yudichak and John Blake voted to hold up Governor Wolf’s proposed clean power plan
WOMAN: I can’t believe that either – I thought they were pretty good legislators.
MAN: Don’t they get that clean energy would be good for our economy and create lots of new jobs?
WOMAN: Yeah, and what about improving our health… reducing pollution will make the air cleaner… and help thousands of kids in the state who suffer from asthma.
MAN: If the state doesn’t develop it’s own clean power plan – the EPA could impose a plan from Washington – a plan that won’t be designed for Pennsylvania.
WOMAN: What’s the saying – “cutting off your nose to spite your face?”
MAN: Exactly.
WOMAN: I think it’s time the legislature got it’s priorities straight – and stopped putting polluters ahead of our kids.
ANCR: Tell State Senators John Yudichak and John Blake to support Governor Wolf and the Pennsylvania Clean Power Plan. Paid for by NRDC Action Fund.
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About the NRDC Action Fund:
The NRDC Action Fund’s mission is to build political support in the United States for protecting the planet and its people. We mobilize influential constituencies, experts, community leaders and others to directly advocate for clean air and water, public health, biodiversity, and a stable climate. We support candidates who stand up for environmental protection, and we expose those who side with polluters rather than the public good. Visit www.nrdcactionfund.org for more information.
