On June 4, President Trump authorized the spending of $700 million in federal funding to build two new coal-fired power plants and to refurbish (and extend the life of) 12 existing coal-fired plants. He characterized his actions as “historic” and asserted that “… clean, beautiful coal will bring down the price of energy and the cost of living for all Americans.”

His statements ignore years of hard economic data and the views of industry experts that coal-fired power plants are more expensive to build and operate than gas-driven plants, and more expensive than energy derived from the growing range of renewable energy sources, i.e., wind, solar, etc.

Trump further ignores industry experts who, in recent New York Times reporting, stated that the phrase “clean coal” is misleading. They noted that “coal plants produce more harmful pollutants and planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions than do gas plants, solar panels, and wind turbines.” These experts also noted that “burning coal emits mercury and other heavy metals linked to an array of health problems.”

Finally, it should be noted that the president is constitutionally barred from unilaterally authorizing spending. The task of raising revenues and delineating spending purposes lies exclusively with the Congress, the legislative branch of government. See U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Sections 1 and 8. In short, the president has once again overstepped his authority. Legal proceedings halting this overreach are fully warranted.

Orlando Delogu
Portland