WATCH: Hickenlooper Fights Trump’s Attacks on Colorado’s Clean Air

Hickenlooper: "The Trump administration thinks we must choose between clean air and affordable energy. But Colorado has shown that's a false choice."

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper took to the Senate floor to urge lawmakers to support his Congressional Review Act to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rejection of Colorado's updated Regional Haze Plan. The EPA decision threatens years of bipartisan work to improve air quality and visibility across Colorado by preserving pollution from a small number of aging coal-fired power plants.

Watch his full remarks HERE

"The administration's decision doesn't lower costs for you-it just means more pollution and more haze in the places we treasure most. Colorado cannot move forward by returning to the pollution of the 1970s," said Hickenlooper on the Senate floor.

He continued: "For decades, we've fought to ensure our mountains are visible and our national parks are the best in America. We should support this measure, and prevent Washington politics from clouding Colorado's hard-fought progress."

Hickenlooper, alongside U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Sheldon Whitehouse, forced a vote in the U.S. Senate today on a discharge petition for a Congressional Review Act to overturn the EPA's disapproval of Colorado's 2022 Regional Haze State Implementation Plan.

As Colorado governor, Hickenlooper worked with environmentalists and oil and gas companies to create the world's first methane rules, which were later used as a national model by the Obama administration. Hickenlooper has previouslyblasted the Trump admin's reckless decision to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "endangerment finding," which determined that greenhouse gas pollution harms Americans and is a serious threat to public health.

Hickenlooper's full speech is available HERE. Remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

"Mr./Madam President,

"Colorado is one of the most beautiful places in America.

"In Denver, we've got over 300 days of sunshine annually. Access to incredible open green space. And if you look West, you get the best view in America: the Rocky Mountains!

"But it wasn't always this way.

"In the 1950s Denver was-and still is-one of the fastest-growing cities in America. Even stretching back to my days as Mayor, one of our main goals was to attract more young people and make it the best place to start a business, grow your family, and build a life.

"To put it in perspective: between 1950 and 1960, Denver's population grew by nearly 20 percent. This brought more cars, more industry, and more pollution.

"By the 1970s and 80s, the smog was so bad people gave it a name: the "Brown Cloud."

"There were days you couldn't even see the mountains-which, as a geologist and a Coloradan, pains me!

"But then something incredible happened.

"In 1970, a Democratic Congress passed the Clean Air Act and it was signed into law by a Republican President.

"It's a reminder that clean air has never been a partisan issue-it benefits everyone.

"The Clean Air Act helped propel states like Colorado and others to turn things around. Emissions testing and fuel standards soon followed. And guess what happened?

"The air got cleaner. Visibility improved. People were healthier.

"Then, in 1999, the EPA created the Regional Haze program. The initiative was rooted around one simple idea: if you go to a national park, you should be able to see it!

"So states were asked to develop plans to cut the pollution that limits those gorgeous views. And once again, Colorado stepped up and led the way.

"In my first year as governor, Colorado submitted our Regional Haze State Implementation Plan, which was first approved in 2012. It put us on a path to improve the air we breathe and the place we're so lucky to call home.

"We also brought environmentalists and the energy industry together to create the world's first methane regulations in 2014. Between 2010 and 2017, those rules reduced methane emissions from Colorado's oil and gas sector by 70%!

"But despite all of that success, the Trump administration is now threatening Colorado's clean air efforts.

"Earlier this year, the EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin - who I voted against - rejected Colorado's updated Regional Haze plan.

"They didn't reject Colorado's plan because the science was wrong. They didn't dispute the modeling. They rejected it to prop up a handful of aging coal power plants that were already planning to close.

"The Trump administration thinks we must choose between clean air and affordable energy.

"But Colorado has shown that's a false choice.

"Time and time again, we've brought communities, utilities, and regulators together to protect our clean air without hurting our economy or energy supply.

"Last summer, the Front Range experienced its lowest number of ozone action alerts in a decade! And thanks to bipartisan investments in renewable energy, Colorado ranked among the top 10 states in total energy production.

"The administration's decision doesn't lower costs for you-it just means more pollution and more haze in the places we treasure most.

"Colorado cannot move forward by returning to the 1970s.

"For decades, we've fought to ensure our mountains are visible and our national parks are the best in America.

"We should support this measure, and prevent Washington politics from clouding Colorado's hard-fought progress.

"Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor."

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