Washington –
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
issued
the
following
statements
after
introducing
two
additional
amendments
to
the
Senate's
Budget
Resolution.
Amendment
690
is
designed
to
protect
South
Carolinians
from
huge
electricity
price
increases
caused
by
proposed
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(EPA)
regulations
and
Amendment
847
seeks
to
bring
a
new
level
of
transparency
and
accountability
to
legal
settlements
with
federal
agencies.
Both
amendments
could
be
considered
as
early
as
this
evening.
Amendment
690:
Protecting
South
Carolinians
from
Increased
Electricity
Prices:
“The
Obama
Administration’s
insistence
on
forcing
costly
and
burdensome
regulations
on
energy
producers
will
cause
electricity
prices
to
skyrocket
for
those
who
can
least
afford
it,
as
well
as
devastate
our
manufacturing
intensive
economy.
I
will
keep
working
with
my
colleagues
in
the
Senate
to
stop
the
EPA’s
overreaching
and
job
killing
proposals.
Despite
my
opposition
to
EPA’s
proposed
regulations,
there
is
no
doubt
that
South
Carolina
has
made
early
and
smart
investments
in
clean,
reliable
nuclear
power,
which
will
soon
provide
the
state
with
over
sixty
percent
of
its
electricity.
Unfortunately,
the
EPA
wants
to
punish
those
states
who
have
invested
in
nuclear
power
over
other
forms
of
renewable
energy
like
solar
and
wind.
My
amendment
would
simply
ensure
that
the
EPA
treats
all
clean
energy
fairly,
and
does
not
attempt
to
sway
the
market
by
picking
winners
and
losers.
South
Carolinians
should
not
have
to
pay
more
for
their
electricity
because
Democrats
and
the
EPA
are
playing
politics
with
the
most
efficient
and
reliable
source
of
carbon-free
energy
available.”
Amendment
847:
Calling
for
More
Transparency
of
Federal
Settlements
Used
to
Create
Agency
‘Slush
Funds:
“In
recent
years,
the
American
people
have
heard
about
massive
multibillion
dollar
settlements
between
companies
and
the
federal
government,
but
the
real
question
that
remains
is
where
are
these
funds
actually
going?
It
seems
that
more
and
more
often
these
settlements
are
being
directed
to
handpicked
special
interest
groups.
Federal
agencies
and
departments
have
tremendous
flexibility
to
construct
legal
settlements,
and
with
that
flexibility
must
come
transparency.
My
amendment
to
the
budget
resolution
will
ensure
that
Congress
has
increased
visibility
and
oversight
on settlement
funds.
Federal
agencies
should
not
be
able
to
operate
slush
funds
set
up
by
the
way
they
construct
settlement
agreements.”
Earlier
in
the
day,
Senator
Scott’s
amendment
to
provide
consumers
a
clearer
look
at
the
costs
associated
with
their
health
care
plans
under
the
Affordable
Care
Act
(ACA)
was
passed
by
a
bipartisan
vote
of
56-44
in
the
U.S.
Senate.
The
amendment
now
becomes
a
part
of
the
Senate’s
Budget
Resolution,
which
will
be
voted
on
in
full
tonight
or
early
tomorrow
morning.
###