Families and small businesses across the nation face soaring costs of living, a struggling economy, and, as expected, rising gasoline prices as we head into the summer months. What is the Obama Administration’s solution? Make matters worse by putting the vast majority of America's offshore oil and natural gas resources off limits and doubling down on its “cap-and-trade” national energy tax that will destroy jobs and increase energy prices further.
The American people are looking for, and frankly demanding, that we do everything we can -- a true “all-of-the-above” strategy -- to create jobs, increase the supply of American-made energy, and lower gasoline prices. Republicans have offered such a plan, the American Energy Act. It would create more than one million good-paying jobs by pursing an all-of-the-above strategy to (1) increase production of American-made energy in an environmentally-sound manner; (2) promote new, clean and renewable sources of energy such as nuclear, clean-coal-technology, wind and solar energy; (3) encourage greater efficiency and conservation by extending tax incentives for energy efficiency and reward development of greater conservation techniques and new energy sources; and, (4) cut red-tape and reduce frivolous litigation.
But instead of embracing a comprehensive energy solution, Democrats are using the President’s decision to lock up the vast majority of America’s offshore oil and natural gas resources – which has been inaccurately portrayed by some as an “expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration,” – as cover to double down on their failed national energy tax.
Democrats call their national energy tax “cap-and-trade.” They use that term because no one seems to know what it means – but I’ll tell you in plain English what it would do: kill jobs and raise energy prices. The whole point is to drive the price of energy higher, forcing Americans to consume less and employers to pass increased costs on to customers. If you drive a car, buy food or a product manufactured in America, or have the audacity to flip on a light switch, you’ll pay under the Democrats’ national energy tax. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) said this about it last year: “Nobody in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax. And it’s a great big one.”
