HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Washington, Jun 18, 2009 - As early as next week, Democrats are poised to move forward with Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax that will only serve to drive prices up further and drive more American jobs overseas to countries like China and India.  Across the nation, Americans are expressing increased outrage at the plan, with West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts perhaps putting it best, telling the Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, “We can't let a bunch of California politicians ruin it for us.”  In other words, Democratic politicians on either coast are fully prepared to make rural America and the rest of the nation suffer with higher prices and fewer jobs to advance their irresponsible, politically-motivated agenda.
 

All of this comes at the worst possible time for families and small businesses.  That’s because, in the throes of an economic recession and rising unemployment, gas prices have risen for the 50th consecutive day.  CNN has the details:

Driving up gas prices even further isn’t the only consequence of Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax.  Take a look at some of the other ways the tax could make matters even worse for middle-class families and small businesses:

• Speaker Pelosi’s National Energy Tax Will Cost Millions of American Jobs.  The National Black Chamber of Commerce estimates that even with any new “green jobs,” net job losses will total about 2.5 million jobs.  And according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s own analysis, U.S. manufacturing output will steadily decline as American manufacturing jobs move to foreign countries. 

• Speaker Pelosi’s National Energy Tax Will Cause Electricity Rates to “Skyrocket.”  President Obama even admitted that a national energy tax would cause electricity rates to “necessarily skyrocket.”  And Duke Energy, a major utility company that would receive free allowances under the Democrats’ plan, has already requested a rate hike of 13.5 percent in anticipation of the energy tax. 

• Giving Away Emissions “Allowances” to Utility Companies Won’t Protect American Families from Increased Costs Under Speaker Pelosi’s National Energy Tax.  According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, giving allowances for free to utility companies “would offset half or less of the added costs that households would face under an emissions cap, because the majority of the added costs come in areas other than home utility bills.”  CBPP goes on to note that “relying on utilities to deliver consumer relief would leave many low- and moderate-income consumers with an uncompensated hole in their budgets.”  Moreover, because millions of American families and farmers buy their electricity from rural electric co-ops.  Because co-ops receive no free allowances their customers receive no relief at all.

Last week, House Republicans unveiled the American Energy Act to clean up the environment, reduce energy costs, and create more American jobs.  And as energy costs rise and Americans struggle to keep their jobs, Republicans want to work in a bipartisan way to increase environmentally-safe energy production to reduce prices and create jobs; promote the use of alternative fuels that will reduce carbon emissions; and encourage increased efficiencies and cutting edge technologies to maximize America’s energy potential.  Unfortunately, Democratic leaders have chosen a far different, far more costly approach that will hurt our economy and cost American jobs.