Fear Mounts as Costs of Democrats' "Cap-and-Trade" National Energy Tax Are Exposed
Boehner: National Energy Tax Is "Irresponsible and Dangerous Economic Policy"
Washington,
Apr 9, 2009 -
President Obama, Administration officials, and congressional Democrats have all admitted that under their “cap-and-trade” national energy tax, every American will face higher costs – especially for electricity. At a time when families and small businesses across America already are struggling, this national energy tax will only intensify their pain further as our nation is working to emerge from this economic crisis. Today’s New York Times highlights the impact of the Democrats’ national energy tax and how it will at least “double” costs for coal-dependent states – states already hit hard by the recession:
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“Estimates of the effects of the proposed federal climate legislation on electric rates vary. The central thrust of the Waxman-Markey bill is to make carbon-dioxide emissions expensive by capping them and creating allowances that utilities must acquire to function.”
“Jaime Haro, AmerenUE’s director of asset management and trading, said his company paid $30 to produce a megawatt of electricity. The coal burned emits roughly a ton of carbon dioxide. If federal legislation effectively prices emissions at $30 a ton — estimates have varied from $20 to $115 – ‘my costs could double,’ Mr. Haro said.”
“Those costs probably would be passed on to customers.”
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Indeed they would. After all, White House Budget Director Peter Orszag has already admitted numerous times those costs would be borne by consumers, not the companies. And during the presidential campaign, then-Senator Obama said the same, noting that “Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” By how much? As much as $3,100 per family every year in additional energy costs. But the costs could be even higher. The President’s budget team initially claimed the “cap-and-trade” scheme would only amount to a $646 billion energy tax hike on all Americans. Yet the Wall Street Journal has reported that the tax could actually be two to three times that size. In other words, families across America: watch your wallets.
The pain of the national energy tax won’t be felt just at home – but at work as well. In fact, millions of good-paying American jobs could be shipped overseas as a result of “cap-and-trade.” House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) explained, calling the Democrats’ national energy tax “irresponsible and dangerous economic policy”:
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“The Democrats’ national energy tax would have a crushing impact on families and small businesses throughout America, including in my home state of Ohio. In my congressional district, for example, employees of the steel manufacturer AK Steel would suffer tremendously under the Democrats’ latest tax scheme. By forcing AK Steel to pay this national energy tax, Washington Democrats would be placing steel manufacturers in India, China, and Mexico at a competitive advantage because they would not be saddled with the same tax burden. That means more jobs would be shipped overseas, where costs will be far lower, and more American families would feel the pain of this crisis. It’s irresponsible and dangerous economic policy.”
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Don’t workers at businesses like AK Steel and families in Ohio and across the nation deserve better than the job-killing, energy cost-increasing “cap-and-trade” scheme that Washington Democrats are trying to thrust upon them? House Republicans believe so. That’s why they’re proposing better solutions – including legislation that will create twice the jobs at half the cost of the Democrats’ trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending bill; a budget that will curb spending, create jobs, and control the debt; and an “all of the above” energy plan that will bring down gas prices and create more jobs by increasing American energy production, encouraging greater efficiency and conservation, and promoting the use of alternative fuels.
