American Clean Energy And Security Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. I thank my friend from Oklahoma for yielding.

I have more concerns with this legislation than I even have time to discuss. But since agriculture is Pennsylvania's number one industry and because I'm a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I would like to focus on the alarming effects cap-and-trade will have on the farmers in my home State.

This legislation, through mandates, attempts to decrease our use of fossil fuels. The whole point of cap-and-trade is to make fossil fuels, or 85 percent of the energy we consume, more expensive. Fossil fuels are essential for energy and electrical generation and also are equally important to use as a feedstock in many goods that we utilize.

Agriculture is an energy-intensive industry, and natural gas will be capped under this legislation. Natural gas is a basic ingredient in fertilizer, which is a building block for all of the food the U.S. supplies. We can't make our food without fertilizer, and we can't make fertilizer without natural gas.

The dairy industry in my State is having a difficult time making profits because of falling milk prices. And while there are many reasons for low milk prices, energy costs are certainly part of that equation.

This legislation will do nothing to reduce our carbon emissions or help Pennsylvania agriculture and will only cause more economic hardship for many small farmers and businesses.

I urge my colleagues to reject this misguided measure.

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