Lummis Says Nat'l Energy Tax Will Hit West Hardest

Press Release

U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Vice-Chair of the House Western Caucus, issued the following statement during a historic bicameral hearing on cap and trade legislation held by the House and Senate Western Caucuses:

"So far this year, at the direction of the President, Congress has spent well over a trillion dollars. The economic ‘stimulus' bill cost the American taxpayer $787 billion and the economy continues to worsen - jobs are being lost, not created. Congress is hemorrhaging taxpayer dollars, unemployment rates are increasing, and families in Wyoming are tightening their belts.

"What was the Democrat leadership's latest answer to this economic challenge? They rammed through the House the largest tax ever enacted on America's consumers through the creation our nation's first ‘cap-and-trade' system for the control and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.

"The bill sets incredibly aggressive emissions reduction mandates that frankly cannot be met with current technologies. These 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 and working families. This proposal will have a devastating impact on the price at the pump and utility bills. It will dramatically hinder the use of Wyoming coal and wreak havoc on family budgets, small businesses and family farms.

"The House-passed bill will force numerous agricultural families out of business. These are more than lost jobs - it is an attack on a western way of life.

"While this Democrat national energy tax was irresponsibly forced through the House approximately a month ago, it is my hope that our colleagues in the Senate can slow this runaway train down and keep it from reaching the President's desk. We simply cannot afford to sacrifice substance for expediency on a climate change plan that will have such dramatic effects on our nation's energy reliability and the pocketbook of nearly every American taxpayer."

Source