Arbitrary, capricious and unlawful.
First, that sums up the attempts by the Environmental Protection Agency – an unelected federal bureaucracy – to clamp down on energy production here in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
As I’ve noted before, the EPA recently released a set of rules that, if allowed to go into effect, will take a staggering toll on Virginians in the form of higher energy costs, lost jobs, and squelched economic growth.
ARBITRARY
CAPRICIOUS
The EPA’s limits aren’t free of an agenda and are not designed to be satisfied with a uniform reduction of emissions. Their goal is designed to target coal energy production, even though many states who use coal energy have successfully reduced their overall emissions.
UNLAWFUL
The EPA’s rules amount to A MASSIVE LEGISLATIVE, REGULATORY AND FINANCIAL BURDEN on our citizens and businesses – all without a vote of the U.S. Congress or our Virginia Legislature to put these rules into effect. These laws have been created by a bureaucracy in clear contradiction to our U.S. Constitution and contrary to the legal rights reserved to the Commonwealth.
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That phrase – arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful – also sums up our President’s recent decision to use his “pen and phone” to upend the legal process and grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in the United States currently awaiting deportation.
Before I go further, it’s important to state that I believe many immigrants – even illegal immigrants – are here with the best intentions. They want to work – and they do work. They want to provide for their families, and enjoy the freedoms secured by our laws.
UNLAWFUL
But rule of law requires that laws be enforced consistently. By directing law enforcement to refuse to enforce the law in circumstances of his random choice, our President is flouting the law.
ARBITRARY
The President’s action simply doesn’t make sense. His decision takes a group of people who are breaking the law and extends effective amnesty to…some of them, depending on metrics assigned by his team of bureaucrats. Instead of our laws deciding who will go or stay, it’s up to whichever consultant is currently drafting his executive orders.
CAPRICIOUS
The President’s actions have been taken with the full knowledge that they’re wrong. He acknowledged that his decision came after Congress didn’t give him what he wanted - Congress had the right to make that call, because that’s how our Constitution works. And instead of making his decision in the open, he waited until after the November elections so his companions seeking election could postpone the outrage of their constituents.
After all that, I have two pieces of good news.
First, there are two lawsuits currently being pursued to correct these federal mistakes. States are joining forces to sue to block both the EPA’s efforts to hamstring our electricity production and the President’s attempts to write his own laws. I believe it may well be in the best interest of Virginians to join in these lawsuits, and I will keep you informed if we are successful in doing so.
"in my view, the most compelling civil rights issue of the 21st Century is the need to expand school choice and educational options so that every child, regardless of race…has a fair opportunity to receive an excellent education."
I’m glad to see Senator Cruz’s statement because it means that he understands school choice is a top-shelf action item. As more and more studies show parents are in favor of choices for their kids, I expect leaders on both sides of the aisle will quickly reach the same conclusion.
Sincerely,
