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June 27, 2013

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

At a time when the American people demand reliable and affordable energy options and

American businesses need regulatory certainty in order to prosper and hire, we have strong

concerns about the climate change mitigation strategy that you have proposed.

While we agree that there is a need for new energy solutions, we do not agree with your

approach. Instead of the top-down regulatory regime that your Administration has proposed,

which will have negative impacts on the economy, we should look for better approaches that

work for all Americans. Republican governors have continued to lead on domestic energy

innovation and we released An Energy Blueprint for America: Policy Solutions for a New Energy

Economy demonstrating that the states are the ones best able to decide and debate the path

forward on energy.

The importance of fuel diversity in Americas energy portfolio is paramount and your proposal

will effectively impede the use of coal for our electricity needs. Your proposal also suggests

singling out the oil and natural gas industry for punitive tax treatment. Further, utilities are

currently grappling with complying with a series of other environmental regulations previously

promulgated by your Administration. We encourage a more judicious approach so that our

energy providers can serve the public in a way that is both environmentally, but also

economically, sustainable.

The Clean Air Act wasnt designed to mitigate climate change. For example, many of our states rely on coal for their electricity generation and these regulations would impose a major

transformation of our economy that has never been proposed in the history of the Clean Air

Act. The foundation of the Clean Air Act is environmental federalism, and we would request

that governors have a seat at the table in determining the pathway forward in reducing carbon

emissions. Before your Administration prepares to execute the regulations set forth in your

plan, governors respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss the impact that these proposed

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policies will have on our states ability to create and sustain jobs. We appreciate your consideration of our request.

We hope your Administration will consider our states individual circumstances, and we look forward to discussing our concerns as well as our solutions, such as those featured in our Energy

Blueprint for America, with you.

Sincerely,

Governor Scott Walker

Wisconsin

Governor Bobby Jindal

Louisiana