Plocal
ages
Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative
Part 29
Political battles are fought on three fronts in the U.S.
Sometimes a member will ask why the cooperative is so involved in the political debate, since we provide a “monopoly” service. We operate the cooperative and provide that
service in an environment governed by various laws, regulations and court cases. It is simply a necessary part of
business for your cooperative (and for every other business
really paying attention and trying to succeed) to understand and remain involved in the political process.
The key to understanding the political process is first
understanding the unique structure of American government and why our founders set it up that way. The drafters
of our Constitution had a great distrust of centralizing
power in any one person or group due to their bad experiences with the British Crown. Based upon the experience
of ancient Rome and their understanding of human nature, they also worried that even an elected president could
assume the dictatorial powers of a king. (Even the Roman
Senate was not able to stop the development of an emperor). At the same time, they distrusted creating a direct
democracy fearing the danger of “mob rule” led by political
passions of the moment. They had examples from ancient
Greek history where the will of the majority stamped out
the rights of the minority. After all, the point of the American Revolution was for the colonies to secede from the
British Crown to preserve the rights and liberties of colonial citizens. This point was emphasized in the first 10
amendments to the U.S. Constitution — also known as the
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Bill of Rights.
Their solution to these fears is provided in our Constitution by two concepts: 1) separation of powers and 2)
checks and balances. Consequently, we have three co-equal
branches of government — the executive, the legislative
and the judiciary — along with constitutional boundaries
(or in the words of one founder “chains”) that limit the role
of each branch and allows for “checks” on the power of
each branch of government by the other. The practical reality is that political battles today (especially over energy
and environmental policy) are fought on three fronts.
1. Legislation enacted by Congress
2. Regulations issued by the departments of the executive branch, and
3. Litigation in the federal courts.
Lorain-Medina Rural Electric bands together with the
other electric cooperatives through the Ohio Rural Electric
Cooperatives (OREC) on state legislation and regulation
and with other cooperatives in the U.S. through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to
protect our members’ wallets from unnecessarily burdensome and costly laws and regulations at the federal level.
This is accomplished by lobbying Congress on our members’ behalf and by commenting on regulations proposed
by various federal agencies. In some cases, our associations
will either initiate or join with others in lawsuits over the
constitutionality and/or interpretation of a law or regulation. We have asked our members to support these efforts
Plocal
ages
Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative
by writing letters, sending e-mails or
making phone calls to our state legislators and especially to members of congress or to federal agencies. We have
also asked you to join ACRE Co-op
Owners for Political Action®.
‘Climate change’ battle report
How does a policy “battle” play out
over these three fronts? Let me give you
two examples. The first is the climate
change/greenhouse gases policy conflict.
The U.S. House of Representatives (one
half of the legislative branch) passed a
cap and trade bill in June 2009 to reduce greenhouse gases and their alleged
effect on “climate change” (previously
known as “global warming”), but the legislation died in the Senate (the other half
of the legislative branch). However, the
president (executive branch) announced
he would find another “way of skinning
the cat…” through the regulatory process
he controls. Also in June 2009, the
Supreme Court (judicial branch) in a
lawsuit brought by Massachusetts
against the Environmental Protection
Agency ruled the EPA (part of the executive branch) has the authority under the
Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse
gases.
So the issue was defeated in the legislative branch, then resurrected by the
judicial branch, and so the “battle” moves
to the executive branch (the EPA). The
current fight is over EPA greenhouse gas
emission regulations for power plants
powered by coal, natural gas or oil. Regulations for new power plants already
have been proposed by the EPA and regulations for new power plants are under
development. We are working with Congress to pass legislation to “check” EPA’s
authority to regulate greenhouse gases
and effectively overturn the Supreme
Court’s decision. We believe greenhouse
gas emission rules, if any, should be legislated by Congress and not by the EPA.
Meanwhile, legislation has been introduced in Congress to impose a carbon
tax in an effort to limit greenhouse gas
emissions (another way to “skin a cat”?).
This policy battle rages on…
Water heater ‘efficiency’ battle report
Congress has passed laws directing
the Department of Energy or DOE (executive branch), to set efficiency standards for appliances, encourage load
management programs for power generators and promote renewable energy
projects.
As I discussed last month, the DOE
has adopted rules starting in 2015 prohibiting the manufacture of electric resistance water heaters greater than
55-gallon capacity. Your cooperative,
NRECA and OREC testified at a DOE
hearing in favor of modifications to a
proposed waiver to these rules allowing
the manufacture of large water heaters
for specific utility purposes, such as load
management and wind energy storage.
In late April electric cooperatives
called on Congress and asked Congressmen and Senators to write letters to the
DOE in support of our position. Ninetyfour members of Congress signed letters.
We also asked them to support legislation, if necessary, to “check” DOE’s overly
restrictive water heater rule. NRECA
also asked our members to weigh in with
their Congressman or Senator on this
issue through their “Our Energy, Our Future” take charge program. This battle
continues.
Our members’ role
The two sample “battle” reports above
illustrate how energy and environmental
policy issues are fought over three fronts
corresponding to our three branches of
government. These “battles” are often
fought over many years. More than ever,
your cooperative needs your sustained
support to maximize our effectiveness
when lobbying Congress or working with
regulatory agencies. You can assist us by
1. Read your Country Living magazine and our local pages every month to
keep up-to-date on the issues;
2. Write letters, send e-mails and
make phone calls when we ask you for
help, and.
3. Become a member of the ACRE
Co-op Owners for Political Action. Please
review the sign up information to the
right for details on how to become a
member. Can we count on your help to
defend your wallet?
YES! I’d like
to join ACRE
I want to help keep the voice of rural
electric cooperatives heard in the
state and national political process by
joining ACRE Co-op Owners for Political Action®. Please add the following amount to my monthly electric
bill.
____ Regular COPA member
$2.08 per month ($25 per year)
____ Century Club member
$8.03 per month ($100 per year)
____ President’s Club member*
$41.60 per month ($500 per year)
____Other $
Only active cooperative members
may enroll in ACRE.
I affirm that my contribution has been
made with non-corporate funds:
Name:______________________
Address:_____________________
Account No.__________________
Signature: ___________________
*Federal electron law requires the following information for contributions
exceeding $200.
Employer: ____________________
Occupation:___________________
Detach and return to
Lorain-Medina Rural
Electric Cooperative,
P.O. Box 158, Wellington, OH 44090
Contributions to ACRE are for political
purposes. Contributions to ACRE
through ACRE Co-op Owners for Political Action® are strictly voluntary. Contributions to federal and state political
action committees are not deductible for
tax purposes. You have the right to refuse
to contribute without reprisal. The contribution guidelines are suggestions only.
You may contribute more or less than the
recommended amount. Contributions
may be stopped at any time upon notification to the cooperative.
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