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

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 Bobby Jindal Louisiana

Governor Scott Walker Wisconsin