Even the Obama Administration admitted that their energy tax would cost families up to $1,700 a year. And a recent study from Harvard found that to meet the Obama administration’s targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent by 2020, gas prices would have to reach $7 a gallon!
California has already begun experimenting with a “cap-and-trade” program. The results aren’t encouraging. Recent news reports indicate that in Southern California, residents may see their rates increased by as much as 30 percent, and Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power has told businesses to expect a 21 percent hike this year.
House Democrats defied the will of the American people and passed this national energy tax last summer. Fully aware that it is deeply unpopular with the American people, Democrats are still moving ahead and planning for a Senate vote this summer on their own version of the national energy tax. At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is plotting a cascade of new regulations to impose “cap-and-trade” on the American people by fiat. I call it a backdoor national energy tax because the effect will be the same: higher energy prices and fewer jobs. Republicans have denounced this course of action – and have introduced a resolution of disapproval (H.J. Res. 77) to protect small businesses from the EPA’s backdoor, job-killing national energy tax. We will continue to do everything within our power to stop the EPA and ensure that the Democrats’ national energy tax never, ever becomes law.
Americans all across this country are asking "Where are the Jobs?" They've watched as Washington has gone on a massive spending spree and pile up more debt on our kids and grandkids. They've seen a partisan Congress defy the will of the American people and ram through a massive government takeover of health care that they don't want. They've watched Democratic politicians vote to give permanent bailouts to their friends on Wall Street at taxpayer expense. But what they haven't seen a real focus on helping small businesses create jobs.
Instead of punishing the American people with higher taxes and higher energy costs, the federal government should be opening up America’s vast untapped natural resources. The House Republicans’ all-of-the-above strategy would do just that – putting America on the path towards real energy independence, creating good paying jobs at home instead of shipping them overseas, and cleaning up the environment for our children and grandchildren at the same time. The American people don’t want a national energy tax – they want lower prices and more jobs. The House Republican plan is the comprehensive energy solution that will help deliver on that promise for the American people.