FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
March 30, 2016
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
STATE AG’s STRANGE, PRUITT CONDEMN ATTEMPTS TO SILENCE THOSE
WHO DISAGREE WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ENERGY AGENDA
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange and Oklahoma Attorney
General Scott Pruitt released the following statement Wednesday:
“Yesterday, Al Gore, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and a small handful of
other East Coast State Attorneys General announced what they called an “unprecedented
coalition” that “vows to defend climate change progress made under President Obama and to
push the next President for even more aggressive action” by seeking to criminally investigate
energy companies for disputing the science behind global warming.
“We won’t be joining this effort, and we want to explain why. Reasonable minds can disagree
about the science behind global warming, and disagree they do. This scientific and political
debate is healthy, and it should be encouraged. It should not be silenced with threats of criminal
prosecution by those who believe that their position is the only correct one and that all dissenting
voices must therefore be intimidated and coerced into silence. It is inappropriate for State
Attorneys General to use the power of their office to attempt to silence core political speech on
one of the major policy debates of our time.
“We are proud to be a part of a different coalition, one driven by respect for the rule of law,
rather than by ambition to use the law to silence voices with which we disagree. Our coalition of
29 states is leading the fight to challenge the legality of President Obama’s plan to kill off fossil
fuels – his so-called “Clean Power Plan.” The 29 states and state Attorneys General who are part
of this effort respect our proper role, which is not to pick winners and losers in the energy sector
nor to silence those who disagree with us, but rather to ensure that the EPA is acting consistent
with the power granted to it by Congress and to fulfill our statutory duties to ensure that the
consumers in our states have access to reliable, affordable energy. In fulfilling these duties, the
29 states and their Attorney Generals understand that all sources of energy should be considered
*not just those that we may prefer for one policy reason or another – so that we give ourselves
the best possible chance to achieve our goal of energy independence, with reliable and affordable
energy available at the lowest possible cost to our citizens.”
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
