Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron today joined West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and a coalition of 22 states in a letter opposing the Biden Administration's proposed amendment of the Federal Acquisition Regulation administered by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FARC). The modified regulation would require certain federal contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and to set targets to reduce them. The attorneys general argue this regulation will have devastating effects on the economies of states dependent on fossil fuels.
"Requiring federal contractors to adopt extreme 'green' initiatives or forfeit their livelihoods threatens Kentucky's economy and promotes the radical climate policies of a few at the expense of the many," said Attorney General Cameron. "We need energy solutions that grow our economy and help hardworking Kentuckians, and we are doing everything we can to halt the President's efforts to harm the Commonwealth's economy and hinder our nation's energy independence."
In 2021, President Biden signed an executive order urging FARC to amend FAR to require federal contractors to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels established by the Paris Agreement, a United Nations treaty that the United States has never ratified. FARC responded by proposing a regulation making federal contractors that do not comply with GHG standards ineligible for federal contracts.
In the letter, Attorney General Cameron and the states argue that President Biden's attempt to implement climate change policies through the FAR oversteps the authority Congress delegated to FARC under Title 40 U.S.C. § 101.
The coalition also contends that Congress has not empowered executive agencies, like FARC, to adopt regulatory changes with far-reaching economic and political implications. In the letter, the coalition writes, "Agencies have only those powers given to them by Congress, and enabling legislation is generally not an open book to which the agency may add pages and change the plot line."
If adopted, the proposed amendment would harm the economies of states, like Kentucky, that rely on fossil fuels. The coalition points out that the proposal "will impose around $4 billion in costs over the next ten years."
According to the Department of Labor, federal contractors account for approximately one-fifth of the country's entire labor force.
Attorney General Cameron and Attorney General Morrisey were joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming in sending the letter.
To read the letter, click here.
