Durbin Blames Koch Brothers For GOP Opposition To Climate Plan

John Gregory -- Illinois Radio Network

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) expects Republican opposition to President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, and says the party’s political donors are to blame.

Durbin supports the new rules, which are aimed at cutting carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2030. Most Republicans in Congress and in the presidential race are against the regulations, and Durbin blames their opposition on the billionaire political donors Charles and David Koch, whose company, Koch Industries, is heavily involved in fossil fuels.

“They are doing everything they can to slow down this effort to have the kind of protection we need for our environment,” Durbin said. “It’s time for the voters to speak up and say my child’s future on Earth is more important than the Koch brothers’ profit.”

Durbin says the Koch brothers’ influence has led to Republican opposition to the existence of climate change, despite the scientific consensus that it’s occurring and is predominantly caused by human activity.

The pushback against the rule may come from the federal and state level. Earlier this year, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had sent letters to governors around the country encouraging states to purposely miss the 2018 deadline on submitting plans to comply with the regulations.