As our economy continues to struggle, Wyoming families are tightening their belts and preparing for an expected summer of increased energy costs. Yet, last week, the U.S. House passed the largest tax ever enacted on America’s consumers.
The bill, H.R. 2454, which I adamantly oppose, seeks to create our nation’s first "cap-and-trade" system for the control and reduction of so-called global warming carbon dioxide emissions. As currently written, however, this ill-conceived measure is nothing more than a "national energy tax."
It works like this: Under a cap-and-trade system, the government will set an overall cap on how much carbon dioxide our nation emits into the atmosphere. Next, companies or individual facilities that emit CO2 as a function of manufacturing, energy production or agricultural work are issued credits – essentially, licenses to emit carbon dioxide, based on how large they are and what industries in which they work. If a company exceeds its cap, it must purchase additional credits.
Higher costs to create energy by American industries will be passed directly on to the American consumers who use it. Further, these increased costs will disproportionately impact lower-income families and hard-working Americans. This proposal will have a devastating impact on the price at the pump and utility bills. It will also dramatically impact jobs in Wyoming’s energy industry and wreak havoc on family budgets, small businesses and family farms.
Make no mistake: this bill is a job killer. Various studies suggest anywhere from 1.8 million to 7 million American jobs could be lost when energy-intensive facilities and the energy industry they depend on must change the way they do business – or relocate overseas – to meet sweeping new government mandates. Wyoming’s energy-based economy will likely be one of the first to suffer from these job losses.
This bill is being characterized as part of a solution to solve global warming. Yet, even the President’s own Council of Economic Advisers’ Report says that global carbon dioxide emissions will be virtually unaffected by U.S. carbon reductions unless countries like China and India participate – and they’ve given no indication that they will.
Supporters of this bill claim that "just saying no" to this particular bill is tantamount to ignoring our commitment to protect the health and welfare of the American people. This accusation depends on the assumption that this flawed, House-passed legislation is the only option we have to address climate change. This is simply untrue. There is a better way.
I support an alternative plan, the "American Energy Act," which will create jobs, protect our environment and lower energy prices. Our bill will increase domestic energy supplies and create new jobs by easing restrictions on building zero-emission nuclear power, producing on the Arctic Coastal Plain, the Outer Continental Shelf, and oil shale in the Mountain West.
Revenues generated through domestic production will then be used to support innovation in renewable and alternative energy sources, like wind and solar technologies, energy efficiency measures, and emerging technologies like carbon capture and sequestration.
The plan I support encourages innovation within the energy market to create the renewable fuel options and energy careers of tomorrow. It promotes greater conservation and efficiency by providing incentives for easing energy demand and creating a cleaner, more sustainable environment.
There is no disputing that our planet experiences climate change – it has been cycling between cooling and warming periods long before we were here to experience the effects. Regardless of if or how much human activities are impacting our climate, it only makes sense to find ways to use our energy resources more efficiently and by the cleanest methods possible. But we shouldn’t do it at such a pace that it further cripples our already struggling economy.
